


How Could We Be So Blind?

by WrennAddysen



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Abuse, Aftercare, Aftermath of Torture, Alpha Harry, Alpha Liam, Alpha Louis, Alpha Niall, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Brainwashing, Character Death, Drug-Induced Sex, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff and Angst, Graphic Description, Hearing Voices, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Injury Recovery, Kidnapping, M/M, Medical Inaccuracies, Miscarriage, Mpreg, Muteness, Near Death Experiences, Non-Consensual Drug Use, OT5, Omega Space, Omega Zayn, Panic Attacks, Psychological Torture, Rape Recovery, Sad Zayn, Sexual Abuse, Smut, Torture, Vacuum Bed Cube, Violence, abusive language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-07
Updated: 2016-05-09
Packaged: 2018-02-12 05:26:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 39
Words: 153,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2097342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WrennAddysen/pseuds/WrennAddysen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zayn, 1/5 of the boy band One Direction, is an omega, pretending to the world that he is a beta.  Zayn's abusive father sells him to unfit alphas in an underground omega sex ring during his heats.  When Yaser begins using an illegal drug to induce artificial heat in his son so that he can be sold more; Zayn begins feeling the effects of the drug and he doesn't know how much longer he can hide as a beta to his alpha band mates.  What will happen when they find out that Zayn has been lying to them for years?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> TRIGGER WARNING!! PLEASE READ TAGS!! REMEMBER THAT NO STORY IS WORTH YOUR WELLBEING. STAY SAFE.
> 
> This is a work of fiction. I do not own One Direction, I do not know One Direction, etc. In no way do I think that the family members depicted in a negative light in this story are like that in real life.

Zayn was grateful to be heading back to London for rehearsals. 

 

During their last tour he and the boys had spent all their free time writing and collaborating with other artists.  After the tour was over they spent a solid two months in the studio recording the new album.  They hardly gave themselves any break at all during that time so that they could have a three month break from everything work related before they had to start preparing for their next world tour.  This break was the longest that they had had since they became a group on X-Factor three and a half years prior.  All the boys were onboard with the hectic schedule of writing and recording so that they could have the extended time off.  

 

All the boys that is, except for Zayn. 

 

Zayn didn’t mind the long grueling days.  It kept his mind occupied.  It kept him from thinking about his situation too much.  What he took issue with was the long break.  Zayn didn’t like going home on his breaks; he knew what awaited him there.  But he knew that he could not complain or indicate that he did not want to spend time with his family like the other boys clearly did.  If he said that he wanted to spread the work out so that he could spend more time away from home, the other boys and management would get suspicious.  They would start asking questions that Zayn could not answer for his own safety.  Add to that, he loved the boys and knew how much they wanted and needed this break.  He could not be the one to deny them that, no matter how much it hurt him. 

 

He loved the boys so he would make this sacrifice for them.  But in his heart Zayn was bitter because he knew it was all in vain.  The boys didn’t even know that he loved them.  They could never find out.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn was right.  The break away from the band and work was just as horrible as he knew it would be.  No.  Actually… it was worse.  Zayn had expected that his father would take away his suppressants when he got home to Bradford so that he would have his monthly heats.  Three heats for the duration of the break; three separate weeks where his father would lock him in the shed in back of the property; the shed that had been refurbished into an almost livable bedroom and small loo.  Zayn had expected that during those heat weeks, his father would send in alphas to service him.  Alphas that had paid his father large sums of money to be able to knot a rare male omega, a male omega that also happened to be 1/5 of the world famous boy band One Direction. 

 

Zayn had expected that his father had booked an alpha a day for those three weeks of torture.  He had expected to be used for 21 days out of his three month break.  He had mentally prepared for it.  He had even made an attempt at eating more to gain weight because he knew that he would be losing weight during his heat weeks.  He always did.  He was already so skinny, and he always loses weight fast, it was hard for him to gain weight, but he had tried and succeeded in gaining a little in preparation.

 

It was like that every time he went home to Bradford.  Whenever he got a week off, his father always demanded that he come home to be serviced.  When he would get there, his father would take his suppressants, causing his heat to come on within 24 hours.  His father would then lock him in the shed with an alpha who would fuck him for the rest of the day, only to be replaced the next day with a new fresh alpha.  The cycle would continue until Zayn’s heat ended or he was due back with the band. 

 

Zayn would return back to work exhausted, bruised, dehydrated, and malnourished.  His bandmates noticed the state in which Zayn returned after every break back home and they asked him about it.  Zayn would always lie and say that he had partied too hard and drank too much with his friends back home during his short breaks.  Zayn had the bad boy persona that helped keep this ruse up.  He didn’t like lying to the boys; but there was no way that he could tell them the truth.  He could not let his management find out that he was a male omega.  Zayn was slutted out at home already by his father.  He knew that if his management found out he would be slutted out on the road too, and then he would have no safe haven.  Working with the band whether it is in the studio or on tour is the only time that he feels even a little safe.  He still had to be careful of course.  He had to make sure to take his suppressants everyday so that the alphas would not be able to scent him and so that he wouldn’t have any sudden heats.  It is trying but significantly better than the alternative.

 

So when Zayn returned to Bradford for his long break he thought he knew what to expect.  When he got home, his father did take away the suppressants.  He was locked in the shed for a week with new alphas switching out every day.  He did spend the first week covered in cum, sweat and tears.  Bruises littered his body from the first alpha who was overeager and none to gentle.  The collection of colorful marks on the omega’s body increased with every new alpha that entered the shed. 

 

When his heat broke after the seventh day he was covered in bruises, scratches and bites where the alphas had gotten too rough.  He was laying in the filth of his own cum and slick as well as cum and sweat of the seven alphas that his father had found to service him.  Zayn was exhausted and thirsty and hungry.  He had had no food or water for the duration of his heat.  His body was sore and frail.  He felt dirty and used and less than human.  Zayn held back the tears as he tried to get up from the bed that he was sticking to trying to make his way the short distance to the shower. 

 

After standing and falling hard to his knees twice when stabbing pain shot up his spine, Zayn finally gave up on walking and half crawled, half dragged himself into the shower, turning the water as hot as it would go to try to burn the stench and feel of the alphas off his skin.  The whole process took Zayn over an hour, by which time the water was cold and his skin was pruned.  Zayn then found a pair of trackies and a hoodie and quickly put them on.  Zayn then slowly pulled the sheets off the bed to throw them in the wash.  By this time he was so weak that he passed out on top of the unmade bed. 

 

This is what Zayn expected.  This is what had happened dozens of times before.  Zayn was just waiting for his father to come let him out of the shed and get some food.  Until his next heat in three weeks Zayn would stay in his room as much as possible and avoid his father at all costs. 

 

Zayn couldn’t remember the faces of the alphas that serviced him; but knew that at least a few were “returning customers”.  His hormones took his body and mind over completely and he became what his father always hated about omegas.  He became needy and insatiable.  He could not get enough friction on his cock and his arse could not be full enough.  The only thought that went through his mind during his heats was “moremoremoremoremore” and he would cry and beg until he got it.  Zayn knew what happened during his heats; but he could not remember any of the details.  He was able to put the horrible experience out of his mind after his heat and not think of them again until his next one.  All of that was what omegas were made for.  Really, he was lucky that his father let him out of the house at all, let alone be part of One Direction.  Omegas were nothing but a burden to those around them.  Zayn knew that his father did a lot of work to make sure that there were plenty of alphas scheduled to service him when he went into heat. 

 

All of that was what was expected to happen when he went home.  Zayn was not expecting what happened next.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn woke up to his father entering the shed.  That was new.  His father had never entered the shed before.  Yaser always stated that it smelled too much like arse sex and need for his beta senses to handle.  Yaser normally just opened the door and left; letting Zayn stumble into the house after him. 

 

Instead, this time Yaser entered the shed with a two bottles of water and a small loaf of bread.  He threw the items at his son who had quickly stood up when he entered trying to ignore the ache in his body at doing so.  Zayn looked at the water and bread with confusion in his eyes, he didn’t know what was going on; this was different. 

 

“Eat up boy.  This is all you are getting for a while.  You will want to put sheets back on that bed soon as well I would think.  But that is your choice.” Yaser sneered. 

 

“I don’t understand Baba.  My heat is over…” 

 

“Your natural heat is over but I have more alphas lined up for you.”  With that Yaser pulled out a small syringe out of his pocket and lunged at his omega son, knocking him down on the hard floor and plunging the needle into Zayn’s thigh and injecting him with its contents.  Zayn was too tired to be able to even attempt to fight off his father, not that he would anyway.  His father was not above beating him severely for any actions that he deemed inappropriate. 

 

When his father pulled away from him Zayn cowered away, scooching backwards until his back hit the side of the bed and pulled his knees up to his chest, trying to make himself as small as possible.  “Wh-what was th-that?”  This has never happened before… what was going on?  Zayn felt his chest tightening in fear ande confusion. 

 

“That, you filthy omega disgrace, was an artificial heat inducer.  Within an hour your heat will start again.  You had better get prepared.  A new alpha will be here by the time it starts.”  With that, his father left the shed locking the door behind him. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Yaser had for years worked at a pharmaceutical company.  He worked in the lab creating new medicines to treat diseases and ailments.  About a year prior, Yaser had been made head of a team assigned to create a medication that would help to lessen the effects of heats on omegas.  The goal was to take away some of the need and pain associated with the heats.  They also wanted the medicine to dull the scent of heat on an omega in case a heat were to start when an omega was in a compromising position, such as traveling or at a large gathering place where they couldn’t get away. 

 

Most omegas’ bodies were on a strict schedule when their heats were due to arrive, but there were a small percentage of them that had abnormal schedules.  Most of the time there were not any problems if an omega were to suddenly go into heat.  The natural instinct of alphas was to protect omegas, so the number of rapes was low.  The larger issue was not the number of rapes that happened (though any number higher than zero was too many) were how violent those rapes were.  An omega that suddenly went into heat and was raped was almost always severely hurt, sometimes even killed.  A large number of the rape survivors also became infertile due to the severity of their injuries.  It was enough for the government to step in and demand that the pharmaceutical companies create something that could help.

 

Due to the damaging long-lasting effects of suppressants which had been illegal for years, the new drug could not stop heats from coming, but just dull the affects and scent.

 

Yaser and his team had worked for a year trying to create a drug that fit the specifications the government had set forth, to no avail.  The government contract was huge for the company and if they did not provide something, or at least show that some progress had been made the company would lose that contract along with a substantial amount of money.  Yaser’s supervisors had made it clear that if his team failed that he would be taking the fall. 

 

The closest that the team came to succeeding in their endeavor was the drug that Yaser injected into his son.  It reduced the feelings of a heat, it took away the insatiable need, but it also diluted the chemical reactions in the brain that allowed the omega to go through a heat without feeling pain or oversensitivity.  It didn’t allow the omega to fall into omega space; it almost worked like a blocker, causing the omega to lose their omega characteristics for a while and almost be comparable to a beta.  When the drug was used and an alpha serviced the omega, it turned from natural to dangerous.  There was a reason that betas and alphas didn’t mate.  It also intensified the scent of the omega, which was the exact opposite of what the drug was intended to do.  When given to an omega that was not in heat or preparing for a heat, it instead caused a heat.  The number of side effects that the drug caused after the fact was also too dangerous and damaging for the government to ever allow to the public.  The government had put a stop to Yaser’s team project after the first round of testing on people.  The test subjects requiring hospitalization and therapy to recover enough to rejoin society, still not back to normal, but slightly better. 

 

Yaser was furious that he had lost his job because of the stupid project.  He had never wanted to work on the project anyway; he had never liked omegas and didn’t give a damn about their heats or rapes or any danger that they could be in.  He had also been penalized with a huge fine by the government for sending the drug to human testing when previous testing on animals had shown that the drug was not ready yet.  Yaser had moved on with the testing anyway because he equally didn’t care about the test subjects and because he really wanted the contract.  Succeeding at this contract would most assuredly lead to bigger and better opportunities that he would be more interested in pursuing, but he had failed, and what was worse was that he had been disgraced in his profession.  There was a possibility that he would be facing criminal charges as well. 

 

Yaser had hoped that it would not come to any of that, but he was a smart man.  He had taken precautions for the last couple of months and had been sneaking out vials of the drug.  Now he was glad that he did.  He was going to use his shameful omega son to help0 secure his own future.  He needed the money to pay the fine and to prepare for a possible criminal defense in court.  In order to pay for everything he needed sell his son for more than just a week at a time.  The drug that had been his downfall was now going to save him. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn began to panic, how could anyone create such a drug?  Maybe his father was just making it up.  Maybe the drug was nothing and Yaser just wanted to scare Zayn freak him out like the stupid omega he was.  Maybe Yaser was watching him from outside the shed, thoroughly enjoying seeing the terror wash over his bastard son.  It would not be out of the question for him to try to (and succeed at) scaring Zayn shitless. 

 

This couldn’t be happening.  It wasn’t happening.  No, his father was just pulling an evil prank on him.  Yaser just wants to make Zayn’s life as miserable as Zayn has made his by just existing.  That is all, nothing more.  The shot must have just been just water or something… Zayn didn’t feel any different, but his father said that it would happen within the hour and he had only just gotten it.  Maybe it won’t kick in for a while…

 

NO!  Zayn shook his head trying to break out of his internal monolog and slow down his racing heartbeat.  It would do him no good to work himself into a panic attack whether what his father said was true or not.  He would just have to wait and see what happens, he didn’t have another choice; the door was locked from the outside.  He couldn’t go anywhere to hide if his life depended on it… which just might be the case.  With that in mind, Zayn fallowed his father’s instructions and dressed his bed.  Afterwards he ate all of the small loaf of bread and drank both waters, after which he still felt the drain of hunger in his stomach his throat was still dry. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

About forty-five minutes after he was injected with the drug Zayn started to feel the familiar warmth in his body.  Soon he felt himself start to get hard with no stimulation, and slick began leaking out of his arse.  His father hadn’t been lying; the drug was making him go back into heat.  For the next few minutes Zayn’s mind raced as he felt his body betray him in the most primal way.  He didn’t know how he would survive this; his body was already weak, but it was demanding attention again.  Zayn hoped for the heat to take over his mind again soon so that he could come to when it was over, never having to actually have to process what was happening to him. 

 

By the time the new alpha was let into the shed, Zayn was naked and covered in his own cum and slick again as he was quickly fisting his cock in his hand trying to relieve some of the pressure.  The alpha almost instantly smelled the pheromones that Zayn was giving off.  Zayn watched as his eyes darkened with lust and he rushed at Zayn.  The alpha quickly grabbed Zayn by the hips and flipped him onto his stomach none too gently.  The alpha yanked down his own trousers and pulled out his already rock hard dick.  Without so much as a word being said, the alpha plunged into Zayn’s hole and began thrusting in and out at a hard fast pace, grunting and moaning as he moved. 

 

What shocked Zayn was that it hurt a lot.  It felt like he was being ripped open and stabbing pains were flashing up and down his spine as the alpha moved.  It had never really hurt before.  He had been sore after a heat, but he had never felt the pain while being serviced.  Zayn felt tears forming in his eyes and they quickly started running down his cheeks.  “Stop.  Please stop” he sobbed.  The alpha didn’t stop though; if anything, he began pounding into Zayn even harder and faster than before growling deep in his chest.  Zayn was terrified; this wasn’t right, something wasn’t right!  After a few minutes the alphas thrusts became erratic and deeper, the alpha was chasing his orgasm.  Even through the pain Zayn was throbbing searching for release from the friction of the sheets beneath him.  The feeling was so foreign, he was in so much pain that it made it hard to take a breath in, yet his dick was responding to the painful treatment that his arse was receiving.

 

Zayn felt the alpha push into him one last time, balls deep in his arse and felt him release his load.  Zayn felt the familiar feeling of warmth as cum shot into him, the feeling pushing him over the edge as well and he shot his cum onto the bedding and his tummy. 

 

Zayn was full-on sobbing by the time it was over, he felt sharp pain shooting from his bum all the way up his spine.  Any movement, including breathing, hurt.  He didn’t understand; this had never happened before.  He was an omega, his body was made to be able to take a dick up his arse.  What was more is that he did not space out during the sex this time.  He remembered each thrust clearly.  He was scared; he never wanted to feel that pain again, he just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry until he fell asleep, never wanting to wake up. 

 

The alpha however, didn’t give Zayn any time to recover.  Before he knew it, Zayn was being flipped over onto his back and he was grabbed behind his knees which were harshly pushed up to his chest, his lower back and bum being lifted and held off the bed completely, the position only increasing the shooting pain in his back causing Zayn to cry out.  The alpha began licking and biting at his abused hole, sucking the cum and slick out of it and licking at the walls inside. 

 

It was too much.  Zayn had never felt like this before, but it was too much, he couldn’t take what the alpha was doing to him.  His body was so sensitive that he tried to move away from the alpha, receiving a harsh slap to the back of his thigh for his efforts.  Zayn could feel the skin there heating up from the strike.  He just wanted it to stop, but to his dismay, his cock quickly began filling again, and he became hard.  The alpha noticed this and moved from Zayn’s hole, quickly licking up the underside of his penis along the vein before wrapping his mouth around the tip and sucking harshly. 

 

Zayn screamed. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

  1.   That was all that Zayn could feel as the alpha bobbed his head up and down on his cock.  It was too much.  Zayn cried out and begged for the alpha to stop.  Tears were flowing freely down his face.  Zayn tried again to move away from the alpha but was no match for his strong grip around his legs and hips.  The alpha stopped his ministrations and looked at Zayn.  Zayn breathed a sigh of relief when the tortuous activity halted.  The relief didn’t last when he made eye contact with the alpha for the first time since he entered the shed. 



 

Instead of concern, all Zayn saw in his eyes was lust.  “Shut the fuck up you omega cock slut! You like this, your cock is begging for it!”  With that the alpha delivered another sharp stinging slap to Zayn’s bum.  Zayn screamed again, earning him another slap.  Then another, and another, until his bum and thighs were bright pink and heated.  The alpha was becoming increasingly more agitated when the omega would not stop crying and screaming.  “I said shut the fuck up, dirty whore!”  Zayn’s body reacted immediately to the alpha tones ringing in the statement, his chest clenching and his cries ceasing abruptly.  Satisfied, the alpha grinned manically and flicked the tip of Zayn’s penis with his fingers harshly, reveling in watching Zayn’s body jerk and stiffen at the assault, unable to utter a sound.

 

Zayn could not believe what was happening.  No alpha had ever done anything like this to him before.  He felt completely powerless; he had never had an alpha’s voice used against him before.  Zayn just wanted this to stop, he was finding it hard to breath and tried to reach up to clutch at his chest and throat but was quickly stopped by the alpha that grabbed his hands and restrained them by duct taping his wrists right wrist to his right ankle and then repeating the process on his other side.  The alpha must have brought the tape in himself since Zayn didn’t think that he had seen any in the shed earlier.  Lucky him; Zayn was now almost completely immobile. 

 

Satisfied that Zayn could not move the alpha then continued his ministrations by wrapping his lips back around Zayn’s dick and began sucking and licking with renewed vigor.  Zayn felt betrayed by his own body when his cock responded to the alpha and quickly but painfully began cumming again.  Even cumming hurt this time, it started to lightly burn as it was expelled from his body.    

 

The alpha wasn’t done though… not by a long shot.  Without another thought the alpha put his cock back at Zayn’s entrance and pushed in deeper than before.  Zayn was in agony.  The pace set by the alpha was brutal and punishing.  The alpha grabbed Zayn’s cock and began pumping him fiercely.  Zayn was overcome with pain from the overstimulation, it was too much.  Just too much.  Zayn didn’t think that he could cum again, but his body quickly proved him wrong when he came again, felling even more of a burn than before. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The alpha continued to fuck Zayn throughout the day and into the night.  Each time was more painful than the last.  The alpha became increasingly more violent as time went on.  Zayn could feel the bruises on his neck, shoulders, and chest where the alpha had bitten him harshly.  There were finger shaped bruises on his hips where the alpha had gripped him tightly whilst pounding into him.  His arse and thighs was a deep purple where the alpha had spanked him increasingly harder during the ordeal.  The slit in the tip of his penis was red and puffy; each orgasm had increased the burning sensation that the omega felt.

 

Zayn wished that he could stop feeling; that he could zone out and let his body just take the grueling punishment that was being inflicted on him and let his mind shut down.  If only he could be so lucky. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, Zayn’s father entered the shed and threw the alpha out.  Being a beta, the only way that Yaser could enter the shed with an omega in heat being serviced by an alpha was after he had doused himself in alpha pheromones; strong alpha pheromones.  Yaser was large for a beta, so the rouse was believable, and the alpha did not have any type of emotional connection to Zayn, so he did not care about being chased off and did not even put up a fight.  To him Zayn was just a throw away fuck, not worth anything; just a way to get off.  That was all omegas were for.

 

Yaser again gave Zayn a small loaf of bread and two bottles of water to go along with another dose of the drug.  The next alpha would be there in less than an hour. 

 

Yaser had dozens of alphas lined up to fuck his son through his fake heats.  He knew that none would be gentle and he didn’t care.  The only alphas that would ever take part in an underground omega sex ring were the ones that were in some way damaged that prevented them from being able to find a mate to bond with.  Most were too unstable to be able to bond at all.  This inadequacy only made them more violent, both physically and mentally.  The alphas that Yaser had on the schedule had no qualms about using their alpha voice to inflict pain and humiliation on the omega.  They had no issues with inflicting excessive amounts of pain and injury to an omega.  These alphas felt none of the natural instinct to protect an omega in their care.  When negotiating the contract for the omega, these alphas did not blink an eye at any of the only three rules that Yaser set forth;

 

  1. Do not bond with the omega.

  2. Don’t leave marks that cannot be covered by clothing.

  3. Aftercare would be provided by Yaser and only Yaser.




 

Yaser knew that omegas needed aftercare after experiencing a heat.  He knew that they needed to be fed, hydrated, washed, cuddled and praised; sometimes for up to two days after their heat had ended.  Without this care, over time, the omega would become withdrawn, paranoid, skittish, and depressed.  Eventually, if the lack of aftercare continued, the omega would become ill and their mental state would deteriorate.  Eventually the condition could lead to the omega’s death. 

 

Yaser also knew that the drug that he was injecting on his son to induce artificial heats was dangerous.  The side effects of the drug were similar to having lack of aftercare.  Added side effects were that the omega would become weak, and be prone to panic and anxiety attacks.  Asthma attacks were also common as well as suicidal thoughts and tendencies.  In addition to what the drug did to the omega that it was injected into, it made their scent change in a way that made them completely irresistible to an alpha that was near them, sending the alpha into a frenzy.  This was extremely dangerous for the omega because an uncontrolled alpha with no attachment to the omega could easily kill them. 

 

Yaser didn’t care about the danger that he put Zayn in.  If Zayn was a beta like the rest of the family, Yaser would not have to whore it out of him.  Yaser could have just beaten Zayn like he did before he tried out for X-Factor… but after his slut of a son became famous, why not use it to his monitory advancement?  It’s not like he wanted the dammed kid anyway.  Now when he needed the money it just worked out even better. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The three month break in Bradford continued like that until two days before he was due back in London.  Zayn had lost track of how many alphas had been brought into his shed to fuck him through his artificial heat.  Zayn’s whole body was covered in bruises ranging from almost healed yellow to very fresh black.  There were scratches and crescent shaped indentions down his chest, back, sides and hips from where the alphas had grabbed him roughly.  Zayn’s bum was so sore and abused that he could not find a comfortable position lying down without it hurting, and sitting was out of the question.  His penis was chaffed and tender from the over stimulation that it had received through the whole ordeal. 

 

His face was puffy, blotched and swollen from tears and crying.  His eyes were red from where the blood vessels there had broken from the force of his orgasms being ripped violently from his body.  His lower belly was protruded from the massive quantity of cum that had been injected into his body from the countless alphas.  Zayn was rarely given time to even bathe between bouts of induced heat.  When he was given the opportunity, a lot of times he was too worn out to be able to make it to the tub to try to rinse and rid himself of the horrid substance.  

 

After the last alpha left, Zayn fell into a fitful, exhausted sleep where he had to relive the details over again and again.  The dreams made even more vivid by the radiating pain throughout his body that even sleep would not lessen. 

 

Zayn was awoken by his father the next morning dragging him by his hair to the bathroom in the shed.  Yasser threw the broken omega in the tub and turned on the water barking at him to get up.  When Zayn could not follow his command, Yaser dragged him up by his hair into a standing position and sneered down at his tummy that was rounded out by the cum that was still stored there.  The bulge in his lower stomach standing out even more due to the skeletal look of the rest of his body; the result of lack of nutrients. 

 

Yaser quickly balled up his fist, flinging it forward to hit Zayn square in the lower part of his tummy, right below his belly button.  The force of the blow causing a stream of cum to shoot out of Zayn’s arse.  Yaser continued to beat the cum out of the omega who was too weak to cry or fight back, resorting to letting out only faint whimpers as the number of bruises on his body increased.  Zayn had been beaten by his father since he was a child and had learned to take a punch; but right now he could do nothing to lessen the blows that were raining upon him.  All he could do was take it and pray that it would be over soon and that no lasting damage would be done.

 

When the punches finally ceased to force cum from the omega’s body, Yaser growled “Clean yourself up and get ready.  Your car will be here in a few hours to take you to London.  You remember what I told you.  You tell no one what happened on your break.  If your management found out you were an omega they would whore you out.  Your stupid little friends would hate you.  They do not want a filthy omega around them.  You will lose everything you hold dear.  Do you understand?”

 

“Yes Baba,” Zayn whimpered with silent tears falling down his face.  With that Yaser tossed the bottle of suppressants on the floor and left the shed leaving Zayn to get ready on his own. 

 

Zayn was really grateful to be going back to London.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off I just want to say thank you to everyone who read the first chapter of this story. It really means a lot to me and you all brighten my day, so THANK YOU!
> 
> Secondly, I want to apologize for any errors in his chapter... I blame them on the wine that I drank while writing it. 
> 
> Lastly, I hope you enjoy this. Please let me know what you think! I love hearing from you!

Zayn had dressed himself in sweat pants and a hoodie that were much too big on him due to his dwindling frame.  They were really his only option he had to wear, the only parts of his body that did not show signs of the recent events were his face, neck, and hands.  Hell, even his feet had hand shaped marks on them.  His head hadn’t been entirely safe through it all; he had a couple of nasty bumps on the back of his head that, thankfully his shaggier hair covered.  He had hastily applied concealer under his eyes to hide the bags under them.  Zayn then made his way into his parents’ house to wait for his car and driver to arrive.  He didn’t have to worry about packing for the trip to London, since none of his belongings had been unpacked since he had arrived in Bradford.  Zayn went to his old room and slowly lugged his bags down the stairs and outside the door to wait on the front step.  He saw his parents in the living room curled up next to each other laughing at a movie playing on the telly, neither looked up at his departure.

 

When the car arrived, the driver packed his bags in the car and Zayn curled up in the back seat hoping to rest enough on the drive to London to not arouse suspicion from his bandmates or management about how tired and sickly he looked after a supposed three month break.  He never really got comfortable, every bump in the road sent excruciating stabs of pain through his body; but at this point, Zayn couldn’t remember a time when he wasn’t in pain, so it didn’t really matter.

 

Zayn woke up when he was about thirty minutes outside of London and immediately began panicking.  He didn’t know if he was ready to face his bandmates.  They had such an odd relationship.  When they were put together on X-Factor none of them had presented into their status yet, and that is how their initial bond within the band formed.  During the show the other four boys each manifested into alphas; it wasn’t until the break between X-Factor and the X-Factor tour that Zayn manifested into an omega.  A late bloomer he was, considering that he was the second oldest right behind Louis.  This was good though, because it meant that he was away from the boys when it happened, and was able to be put on suppressants.  When he saw the boys again for the first time, he told them that he was a beta.  The boys believed him without a second thought because they knew that his whole family was betas. 

 

As a whole, the group are quite handsy with each other, which is unusual for four alphas.  Due to the bond that they formed before their status became apparent they were able to get along and work together with very little argument.  After Zayn informed the others that he was a beta, they shied away from being so hands on with him when they noticed that he no longer seemed to like it as much.  They thought that Zayn presenting as a beta was the reason since as a general rule, betas avoided physical contact or coddling.  The real reason was that Zayn enjoyed the coddling and contact more than he knew an actual beta should.  He needed to play his part in order to avoid suspicion, so he pushed the boys away just enough even though it killed him to do so.  He could not risk his secret coming to light.

 

Zayn craved the contact with the alphas that he trusted.  He wanted to be held, nuzzled, and praised.  He wanted to be protected and loved.  He also knew that expressing his feelings would blow his cover and cause the alphas of the band to hate and shun him for lying to them.  He did not want to be kicked out of the band for lying or for being a weak pathetic omega.  Omegas were a drain on society, the lowest status; he would dishonor himself and his family if he came out publicly as an omega.  He also remembered what his father told him about his management finding out as well. 

 

What shocked Zayn was that now, this close to seeing his bandmates again, he realized that he did not want any of the things that he had craved before.  Normally after a break, when they all got together again, was the only time that Zayn let his guard down and allowed the alphas to cuddle him.  They were able to ground him, in a way; to make him feel safe.  Their attention helped him to understand that as long as he was careful he was safe with them; he wouldn’t need any more servicing until the next break.  Now though, the thought of another alpha, even one of his beloved bandmates, touching him in any way made his stomach roll.  The thought of their eyes watching him made his skin prickle and the hair at the back of his neck stand on end.  How was he going to get through this?  Suddenly he just wanted to be alone. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn was able to make it into the hotel and up to his floor without any hassle, having been brought in through the underground parking and using the service elevator.  Just as he was about to swipe his keycard to enter his room, he heard a loud rustling noise behind him.  Before he knew it, Zayn felt something heavy collide with his back, knocking the wind out of his lungs causing him to fall to his hands and knees on the ground with a loud whimper. 

 

“Zayn!!!  Mate!!! I haven’t heard from you in ages!!! How dare you not return any of my calls or texts!!! Why have you been ignoring me!!??”  Louis yelled while rolling off of Zayn’s back and giving him a pouty disgruntled look.  Zayn was too busy gasping trying to get air back into his lungs and slow down his frantically beating heart to answer the rambunctious alpha.  He felt like his body was on fire from where Louis had jumped on his bruised back, his knees would have fresh bruises as well.  “Mate, are you okay?” Louis finally took notice of Zayn’s discomfort, furrowing his brows as he eyed his best mate. 

 

“Uh, yeah mate.  I’m good; ya just startled me is all, yeah.” Zayn managed to croak out.  The smell of Louis’ alpha was making his stomach twist up in knots.  Zayn knew that Louis would never really hurt him; but he was beginning to panic.  Zayn could feel his face begin to heat up and he felt the twinge of tears in the back of his eyes; though he didn’t know why, the fall didn’t really hurt that much.  He had obviously just been through so much worse.  Zayn didn’t know what was happening to him.

 

“Okay.  Hey, the other lads are in Liam’s room catching up; come on! We are going to order some food, watch some telly, and chat the night away!  We don’t have to be to rehearsals until 11:00 AM tomorrow.”

 

Zayn knew he wasn’t ready for this.  He could not face the rest of the alphas, no matter how nice they seemed.  He felt like his omega was on display for them all to see.  He could not let them see him like this.  What if they started touching him?  What if they smelled him?  He was back on his suppressants, but what if they didn’t work, or hadn’t fully entered his system yet?  No.  No, he had to find an excuse. 

 

“Lou I’m really tired.  Long night last night, I can barely keep my eyes open.  I’m gonna go lay down for a bit and maybe I’ll be down after to hang with you boys.”  Without waiting for Louis’ reply, Zayn entered his hotel room and slammed the door shut. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Louis stood in the hallway, stunned for a moment, looking at the closed door that Zayn had just disappeared behind hearing the lock slide into place.  He debated pounding on the door until Zayn let him in, but decided against it.  Zayn was clearly more upset than he had let on; maybe he just needed some time alone.  ‘More time alone’ Louis thought bitterly to himself as he trudged slowly back down the hallway. 

 

Louis entered Liam’s room and the other alphas all looked to him.  Niall was sitting on plush chair with an assortment of sweets piled on the coffee table in front of him.  Harry was sprawled on the bed like a starfish, somehow seeming to take up the whole king size bed all by himself.  Liam was perched on the couch across from Niall.  “I found Zayn,” Louis said as he took a seat next to Liam. 

 

“Well where is that wanker at?  M’gonna chew his arse; he spent the whole break ignoring me!  Gonna make him feel right guilty I am.” Niall yelled around a mouth full of gummy bears. 

 

“He spent all of break ignoring all of us Niall; not just you,” Harry huffed out lowly while pushing his fingers through his unruly curls.  “Why isn’t he with you?”

 

“He said that he might come by here later to catch up, said he was tired.” Louis replied dully. 

 

Liam however caught the worried look on Louis’ face.  “He’s bad again isn’t he?”  Louis nodded his head gravely.  “How bad is it?” 

 

Louis sighed; “I think it is worse this time.  Normally he comes to us after a break, I’m worried.”

 

Niall glanced from Liam to Louis with a confused look on his face.  “What are you two talkin’ about?”

 

“Talkin’ ‘bout Zayn,” Harry said watching Louis. 

 

Niall continued to look between the three of them, not comprehending what they were saying.  “C’mon Ni, you had to of noticed that every time Zayn comes back from Bradford he looks like he desperately needs a holiday, instead of looking like he just finished one.” said Louis disbelievingly. 

 

“And that he is always more cuddly for the first few days back from break,” Harry added.

 

“Oh, that.  Ya, I noticed.  I always just thought he missed me glowing personality.”

 

“Ya mate, that is exactly why he comes back to us looking like shite!” Harry laughed, throwing a pillow at Niall’s head, smacking him in the face as he was stuffing his mouth with another handful of gummy bears. 

 

“Oi mate!! I could’a choked!”  Harry just shook his head at the blonde and turned back to Liam and Louis.  Niall shoved the pillow behind his back and relaxed into it.  “So anyway, what do ya think is up with ‘im?” 

 

“I’m not sure.  He looks ill.  His face was gaunt and his eyes were red and puffy.  He looked like he hadn’t slept in days.  I’m even more worried because he immediately went into his room, locked the chain lock too.  He always comes to us when we get back together after a breake HH.  Why didn’t he this time?”  Louis informed the others. 

 

The four alphas sat in silence for several minutes.  Each was thinking about what Louis had said about Zayn’s appearance and actions.  None of them knew what to do.  When they had first gotten together as a group they had all been very open with each other; even when the alphas presented they still shared everything.  Things changed after Zayn presented though.  Afterwards Zayn didn’t share as much with the other boys, verbally or physically.  Sure he still talked to them and cuddled with them, but he was more hesitant and closed off than he had been before.  Of course the fans noticed and it gained him the title of the ‘mysterious one’ of the band.  Zayn always thought that was rubbish, stating that he was just more reserved than the other boys.  Secretly, all the alphas agreed with the fans, but there is no way they would ever admit that to Zayn. 

 

The alphas took the change in Zayn in stride.  They had always assumed that being a beta was the reason for the change in behavior.  Betas tended to be more shy around alphas as a general rule, and really only opened up to other betas.  It didn’t cause any real problems; they all still loved each other.  They were all best mates and had an unbreakable bond; the dynamics had just shifted a little.

 

Most of the security and crew for the band were betas with a few mated alphas and omegas.  Betas and mated alphas were perfect for security as they were fiercely protective of their charges, but less likely to fight with each other.  All omegas on the crew, mostly the stylists, hair and makeup, and publicists were mated as well.  All of the omegas were female as well.  Unmated omegas were a liability as they would be sought after by any unmated alphas. 

 

Zayn didn’t seem to really bond with anyone else on the crew.  His only attachments were too the boys; but even then he spent most of his time separated from them even if they were in the same room.  Zayn would have his nose in his journal, be sleeping, or be listening to music while tuning out the world.  The boys didn’t mind his aloofness; it didn’t make them love him any less.  If anything it made the few and far between moments where Zayn would allow them to cuddle him even more special.  That and it made it easier for the boys to watch Zayn when he was not paying attention. 

 

There was no doubt that all of the alphas found Zayn attractive.  How could they not?  Zayn was the panicle of male beauty without any effort on his own behalf.  With ebony hair that always looked perfect, no matter what the cut, honey eyes that sparkled, long thin nose, and perfect pink lips that were just the right amount of pouty.  He had high defined cheekbones that any model would kill for.  His skin was smooth and just the perfect shade of color that was hard to define but that he worked so well; there wasn’t a color the eye could see that did not go well with his tone.  He was thin with just the right amount of muscles that defined his body structure without overpowering it.  His tattoos were artful, littering his body and showing his personality all at the same time.  Zayn also liked to keep himself perfectly groomed, never having liked having too much body hair.  Zayn was fit, bordering on pretty that would be hard for anyone to ignore. 

 

The alphas had given up long ago at ever having a chance with Zayn though.  They were alphas and he was a beta; that paring could be dangerous to the beta should the alpha knot.  That and the fact Zayn did not seem particularly into male company in a sexual way.  Zayn never seemed interested in any gender for that matter.  The boys never asked him about it and he never said anything. 

 

Zayn never went anywhere without his journal.  He was constantly writing in it when he had some free time.  All the boys had asked to read some of what he had written, thinking that it was song lyrics; but Zayn would always deny them and clutch the book to his chest in a death grip.  It wasn’t enough to stop the boys from asking, just to take the piss at him, but it was enough to stop them from pushing the subject.  They all knew that Zayn would never let them near his journal. 

 

“I think that we should just give him some time.  If it was something bad, he would come to us.” Liam reasoned. 

 

“Are you sure that he would?” asked Harry slwoly with genuine curiosity.  He personally thought that if Zayn had a dark secret that he would take it to the grave with him rather than tell the alphas.  Zayn was very private, especially about his home life, always changing the subject whenever it came up. 

 

“No, I guess I’m not really sure,” Liam admitted despairingly.  “Okay how is this… we give him two weeks to either get better or come to us.  We will keep a close eye on him.  If he isn’t doing better and he has not come to one of us by then, we will stage an intervention.” 

 

All the other boys looked at Liam, thinking the idea over.  “If it is something, we will then have another two weeks to work with him, to get him ready for tour.  What do you boys say?”

 

Louis, Harry and Niall looked at each other for a moment, and then turned to Liam.  “Okay.  That sounds like a good plan,” Niall stated. 

 

Louis let out a deep sigh, “I just hope that it doesn’t come down to an intervention.  I do not fancy trying to get that boy to open up about something that he does not want to.  Pulling teeth would be easier.  Betas can be so damn stubborn when they want to be.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn opened his door and quickly entered his room, dropping his bags and leaning against the door as he locked it, being sure to also slide the chain into place.  There were always spare key cards floating around the crew and the boys and Zayn couldn’t take the chance that someone would use it right now.  He needed to be alone.  Zayn stayed there until he heard Louis walk away from his door, presumably to go to Liam’s room and tell the boys what an arse Zayn was being.  When he was sure that Louis wasn’t coming back, Zayn finally stepped away from the door, pulling out his journal and falling down on his bed.  Zayn had to get some of these feelings out; they had been bottling up inside him since the beginning of his break and this was the first time that he had really been left alone. 

 

So Zayn wrote.  He wrote about everything that had happened during the break.  He wrote about the pain and the bruises that he had received.  He wrote about how different the artificial heats felt.  He wrote again about his fear that his bandmates and management would find out his secret.  Zayn wrote about what everyone’s reactions would be if they were to find out.  He wrote about what the fans would think.  Oh god… the fans… they would crucify him.  The parents would freak.  No parent would want their young impressionable child idolizing a filthy omega that needed to be slutted out in order to be taken care of.  Especially a male omega.  Male omegas were so rare that most people had never actually met one.  (Unless of course you were an unfit alpha that had traveled to Bradford in the past three years, Zayn thought bitterly.)  Zayn wrote until he physically could not write anymore.

 

Zayn didn’t realize when he started crying.  At first it was just a single tear trickling down his cheek into the stubble that littered his jawline.  That gradually increased until his face was covered in salty tears and the neckline of his hoodie was damp enough to be uncomfortable.  The words that he was writing were blurry, Zayn barley noticing and not caring that his journal pages were damp and spotted with his tears.  Even then Zayn could not stop his tears. 

 

Zayn wasn’t sure at this point why he was crying.  He was no stranger to physical pain or to being slutted out, this was his life and he had come to terms with it a long time ago, but for some reason, while writing about the events of his break, he could not stop.  There was an ache in his chest as he tried to hold back the sobs that were threatening to escape.  His head felt like it was splitting open and his heart was pounding, but whether that was from crying or something else he was not sure. 

 

Zayn was starting to have trouble breathing through his tears and knew that he had to calm down.  He had told Louis that he would be by Liam’s later in the evening and it was already 7:00 PM.  The thought of Louis and the other boys only brought on another round of hysterics from the broken boy. 

 

Eventually exhaustion won out and Zayn slowly eased into sleep; his ragged breathing settling down.  His heart rate returned to normal.  Zayn’s damaged body finally fell into the rest that it had been craving but was denied for so long.  Zayn didn’t dream.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn woke a couple of hours later, still tired, but too scared to try to sleep again in the dark room all by himself.  Just because he hadn’t dreamed during his nap did not mean that he would be spared from reliving his recent experiences again.  Zayn looked at the clock and saw that it was 10:44 PM.  He had told Louis that he would be by Liam’s tonight.  He was required.  The boys had an unspoken rule that after they were reunited after a break they would spend the first night together, cuddling and catching up since they all always missed each other so much when they were separated for any length of time. 

 

With the thoughts of his mates in mind, Zayn dragged himself off his bed and into the bathroom to change and try to make himself presentable.  Zayn was not vain like a lot of the fans thought he was, though he did spend a lot of time looking in mirrors and other reflective surfaces, just not for the reasons that everyone always assumed.  Zayn didn’t give a damn what his hair looked like most of the time.  His concern was making sure that all of his damaged skin was covered, either by clothing or his hair. 

 

Zayn washed his face of all traces of tears.  He changed into his longest pair of pajama bottoms, thick socks, and a long sleeved shirt under a thick hoodie.  Zayn had a hard time getting the string on the bottoms to be tight enough around his waist to not fall down, the pants were simply too big for him.  Finally he managed it.  Once Zayn was satisfied that he looked as good as he could get, he took a moment to gather his thoughts and take some deep breaths.  He would have to play his part flawlessly to make up for running away from Louis like he did earlier. Zayn still had dark purple circles under his eyes and his eyes were still bloodshot, but there wasn’t a whole lot more that he could do about that.  If he waited much longer to get to the boys it would cause more suspicion then his still slightly haggard appearance. 

 

Zayn slowly exited his room and walked down the hall to the one that security had told him was Liam’s when he had first arrived at the hotel.  Zayn finally found himself standing in front of the door; he was already sweating even though he had layered on clothing because he was freezing just a few moments ago, and his heart was starting to speed up.  Taking a deep breath, Zayn plastered on the best fake smile that he could muster and knocked on the door. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to update again soon, I have the next chapter all planned out, it is just a matter of typing it out. This month is going to be super hectic for me, I am going to two of the WWAT concerts this month!! Detroit on 8/17 & Chicago on 8/29!! I am so excited! 
> 
> Anyway, if anyone wants to follow me on twitter: @WrennAddysen or on tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/wrennaddysen 
> 
> I would defiantly love more followers on both!! 
> 
> Thanks again, & I hope you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to have this chapter up days ago. I was in the hospital (not fun). Going back later tonight for another procedure. I have kidney stones (plural), pneumonia, and now a cold. If you have the chance to have any of those... pass. Trust me. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!!

The door opened and there stood Liam dressed in a muscle tank and basketball shorts.  Liam’s face lit up when he saw Zayn, immediately pulling him into a tight hug.  Liam’s face faltered slightly when he felt Zayn’s back stiffen and heard him take a sharp intake of breath.  Liam quickly let Zayn go and it didn’t escape his notice that Zayn was paler than he was just seconds before when he had opened the door.  Taking a breath and slightly pursing his lips, Liam ushered Zayn into his room where he and the other boys were in the middle of a Toy Story movie marathon.

 

Zayn was met with a choirs of greetings and was bombarded with hugs from Niall and Harry.  Zayn schooled himself better with these hugs, only biting his tongue when their arms squeezed his bruised body, forcing himself not to wince.  When Louis just stood and waved a greeting to him instead of coming to hug him like the others, Zayn’s face paled even more, dread showing in the change of his posture. 

 

**He’s mad at you.  You forgot your place and snapped at him.  Stupid, nasty omega.**

 

Zayn’s eyes glazed over as he heard the voice in his head.  This was new.  Zayn couldn’t pause to try to examine where this voice was coming from because of course Louis would be mad, because even though he thought Zayn was a beta, betas still don’t snap at alphas no matter how close they are personally.  Zayn needed to try and fix this. 

 

“I’m sorry about earlier Lou.  I didn’t mean to snap at you,” he said meekly.  Zayn couldn’t keep eye contact with the alpha in front of him; he tried but his gaze faltered on the last word and fell to the carpeting below his feet. 

 

Louis looked at Zayn blankly… why was Zayn acting so weird?  Normally he would just apologize and they would move on.  Zayn looked almost ashamed and scared.  What could he be scared of?  Surly not Louis?  “Don’t worry mate.  I’m sure that you were just tired; it’s a long way here from Bradford,” Louis stated, still puzzled.   

 

Zayn seemed to relax a little bit after the exchange and hugged Louis as well.  After that the five bandmates set about rearranging the furniture in the room.  The couch, chairs and tables were moved to the sides of the room and the large mattress from the bed was put in their place in the middle of the room.  The boys then gathered all the cushions, blankets and pillow in the room to create a large nest in front of the telly.  Only then did the boys settle down to finish watching Toy Story. 

 

The four alphas cuddled together in a mass of tangled limbs.  Zayn lay with them, though a little ways away so that he was not touching any of them.  It was odd behavior for him and the other boys noticed, but declined to say anything, just happy that Zayn had left his room and joined them for the first time in months. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The next morning the boys woke up and got around for their first day of rehearsals for their upcoming tour.  Zayn retired to his room to shower and change.  While doing so he examined his appearance in the mirror.  His body was horribly bruised through his arms, legs and torso.  He would be wearing long sleeves and long pants for the foreseeable future.  Zayn was sure to take his suppressant.  He quickly hid the pills back in the secret compartment of a faux can of hair wax. 

 

Once all the boys were ready they met downstairs in the lobby to have breakfast.  It was no surprise when Niall filled one plate with waffles doused in butter and syrup with powdered sugar on top and another plate filled with hash browns, bacon and eggs.  How Niall could eat so much and never gain any weight was beyond any of the other boys.  The rest of the boys, aside from Zayn, filled their plates and began shoveling down the food as they knew that today would be rough.  They were always at least a little out of shape after a break and this was the longest one that they had had since they became a group.  Zayn however only filled a bowl with fresh fruit.  Zayn was hungry but did not think that he would be able to keep down any heavy foods.  His stomach had become accustomed to the menial amount of sustenance that his father allowed.  Add that to the amount of activity he knew he would be put through today he knew better than to eat anything else, even though he needed the calories and the energy that they would provide.    

 

Liam noticed Zayn’s apparent lack of appetite.  “Zayn you really should eat more than that today is going to be grueling,” he said catching the other boys’ attention. 

 

Zayn felt the heavy weight of the alphas’ stares on him.  He had to think of something fast.  He could not draw any further attention to himself.  “I-I know, I’m just not all that hungry today.  Nerves.”  The other boys seemed to accept this grudgingly, but Liam was still giving him a skeptical look.  “I’m fine Leeyum, I’ll eat a big dinner tonight I promise.”

 

“Okay, you had better.  Don’t want you getting ill,” Liam said with a small smile. 

 

Soon after their van arrived at the hotel and Paul came to collect them.  The boys were ushered out to the van, Niall, Louis and Harry got in the back seat, leaving Liam and Zayn to sit in the middle section of the van. 

 

The van arrived at the airport hangar that was being used to house their stage setup.  The boys were able to get out of the van and into the hangar without the prying eyes of fans or paparazzi.  Inside the boys met with their choreographer to go over their placements for all of the songs on their set list.  As Liam had said earlier, it was a grueling day.  Zayn was always the worst with choreography on his best days.  Today while he was still reeling from the events of his break activities, he was bloody horrible. 

 

The stage setup was similar to a skate rink with ramps and everything.  It was huge with a long catwalk that led to stage B.  At one point during the show, stage B would rise up with all the boys on it and animated versions of themselves would be playing on it underneath them.  It looked really cool but it was a bit scary as well. 

 

During the course of the day all the boys had found a way to fall and land on their arse, but none more than Zayn.  In Zayn’s mind this stage was set up specifically to taunt him.  There was no way that he would ever be able to get through a set without falling and embarrassing himself.  He didn’t know how he was going to be able to sing his parts on this stage.  Getting from stage A to B was enough to wind him; by the time he got there, jogging to keep up with the others he had to bend in half with his hands on his knees to try and catch his breath. 

 

**Stupid clumsy omega; without a dick in your arse you can’t do anything right.  Keep up like this they will kick you out of the band.  Then what will you do?**

 

At one point Harry approached him and smacked him on the bum, and asked Zayn if he was alright.  Zayn tried to hide his whimper at the contact by clearing his throat while nodding his head, but was not quite sure that he managed it completely.  Harry had said okay and walked away with a concerned look over his shoulder before skipping back down the catwalk after Zayn had said “Yeah, just shoulda hit the gym over break, ‘at’s all.”

 

Twelve hours after the boys arrived at the hangar they were allowed to leave.  Zayn was the first one in the van and sat in the back next to the window, Niall was right behind him, eager to get to the hotel to order room service, even though he had scarfed down four sandwiches at lunch. 

 

Once at the hotel Zayn tried to quickly make it to his room so that he could be alone.  He needed to check his body to see what new bruises were added to the ones already littering his body.  The alphas though had other plans.  Zayn was more than slightly disgruntled when the others followed him to his room and began to set up camp and order the whole menu from room service.  Knowing that there was no way that he would get the four of them out of his room until morning; he resigned himself to grabbing a pair of pajama pants and another hoodie and excusing himself to take a shower. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

By the time that Zayn had gotten out of the shower and covered up his body in layers of clothing, the food had arrived and Niall had consumed almost a whole pizza himself.  The alphas in turn, all quickly made their way to the shower to get ready for bed.  Due to the other boys going in and out of the shower, Zayn was able to hide the fact that he only ate half a plate of chips. 

 

Again the boys cuddled up on a nest of mattress, blankets and pillows to sleep.  Zayn was the last to fall asleep even though he was tired.  He was still upset about how horrible he had done at rehearsals.  He was actually dreading going back in the morning.  To get his mind off the long weeks ahead before tour, Zayn grabbed his phone and began looking though his mentions on twitter for the first time since before he had gone to Bradford. 

 

After about an hour of trolling through twitter Zayn saw the trend #OmegaZayn.  Zayn paled upon reading the trend.  If fans that didn’t even know him, had never met him, thought that he was an omega… how do the rest of his bandmates and management not suspect him as well?  Zayn couldn’t even bring himself to look at what was being said along with the hashtag; his mind panicking too much to be able to comprehend anyway.  Zayn couldn’t look at his phone anymore.  Cursing himself and his disgusting status, he threw his phone down and closed his eyes. 

 

**You can’t keep this a secret forever.  Everyone will find out.**

 

Eventually sleep overtook him. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Harry woke up suddenly and looked at his phone to see the time as just after 3:00 AM.  Harry didn’t know what exactly woke him up, but soon heard a whimpering sound.  Harry stood up carefully so as not to wake Niall and Louis who were on either side of him and searched around to find the source of the sound.  He was shocked to see Zayn withering around, tangling himself in blankets, clearly in the throes of a nightmare.  Harry could only stare as he noticed tears rolling down his mate’s face as he cried in his sleep.  Harry made his way over to Zayn as quickly and quietly as he could.  Harry carefully grabbed Zayn’s shoulder and shook him.  Zayn awoke with a yell and jerked away from Harry’s touch. 

 

Zayn was disoriented when he woke, not knowing where the alpha was that was just pinning him down on the bed.  Zayn saw Harry in the dim light and realized that he had been dreaming. 

 

“Zayn, are you okay?” Harry whispered, concern clear in is voice. 

 

Zayn was breathing heavy as he tried to wipe the tears from his eyes and face.  “Y-ya.  I-I’m f-fine.  Ju-just a b-bad dream.” 

 

“Do you want to cuddle?  Take your mind off it?” Harry asked hopefully.  He would love nothing more to be closer to his mate who had been so distant for so long. 

 

Zayn really didn’t want to be close to anyone at the moment and was positive that a cuddle would not in fact take his mind off his nightmare but didn’t know how to tell Harry without alerting him that something else was actually wrong.  So Zayn did the only thing that he could do and said “Ya, I would like that.”  Without another word, Harry smiled and lay down beside Zayn and pulled him to his chest.  Harry quickly fell back to sleep, while Zayn silently tried to keep himself from panicking while being held closely by his alpha bandmate. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn woke up before the rest of the boys and was met with the saturating smell of alpha.  He immediately started panicking.  It took him a few moments before he recognized the closest alphas sent.  Harry.  Zayn took a few minutes to calm himself and carefully disentangled himself from Harry’s strong grip being careful not to wake any of the sleeping alphas in the room.  He made his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth and take his suppressant.  By the time he went out into the common area, the other boys were waking up. 

 

“Did you sleep better last night?  No more bad dreams?” Harry asked innocently.  Liam, Louis and Niall looked at Harry in confusion.  Seeing this Harry explained “Zayn had a nightmare last night, he was crying in his sleep.”

 

Internally Zayn groaned at his bandmate.  How was he going to get out of this? 

 

“Zayn, are you alright?  Is something bothering you?” Louis immediately asked with worry clear in his eyes. 

 

“Ya, I’m fine, really.”  Zayn tried to sound convincing, but it sounded forced even to his own ears. 

 

“Mate, even I know you are full of shite right now,” said Niall.  “Tell us what is wrong.  If you are not sleeping well and having nightmares how are you supposed to live through rehearsals?  You were bloody terrible yesterday!”

 

Zayn couldn’t help it; he knew that Niall didn’t mean anything by his statement, but he felt tears well up in his eyes anyway, he quickly looked away.  Louis grabbed a pillow and chucked it at the back of Niall’s head, hitting him square on. 

 

“Apologize to him!  It’s not like you have never had a bad day Nialler!”

 

Niall looked appalled but apologized anyway.  Liam made his way over to Zayn and put his arm around the older boy’s shoulder either not noticing or ignoring the cringe that his contact caused.  “What is bothering you mate?”

 

**They think you are terrible.  It’s only a matter of time before they kick you out.  You were stupid to think that they wouldn’t.**

 

Zayn thought fast… trying to ignore the voice in his head.  “I was on twitter last night and saw a trend that the fans started a while ago.  It just upset me I guess.” 

 

“What trend?  You know that you can’t take these things seriously.”  Harry said. 

 

“It was #OmegaZayn and I know that I shouldn’t think anything of it, but it is dangerous you know.  What if someone took it seriously?  Male omegas are rare and if there was ever a question about it someone could try to get to us, to me.”  Zayn lied.  Well not really a lie.  It was not what his nightmare was about, but still a legitimate fear of his.  If outsiders did find out that he was an omega, his safety would be in jeopardy. 

 

“Zayn, you know that we have the best security available that can handle any type of situation.  We are completely safe.  Besides, we all know that you are a beta, and so do the fans.  No worries mate.”  Liam said confidently. 

 

“Yeah, your right,” Zayn admitted sheepishly.  With that the conversation was over and the rest of the boys went to their rooms to get ready for the day. 

 

**They will hate you when they find out that you have been lying to them.  They will loath you.  They will finally see you for what you really are.  A nasty, used, disgusting omega.  An omega that forgot his status and lied to alphas.  An omega that deserves to be punished.  They will take you then sell you to the highest bidders.  They won’t be your friends anymore.  You will lose everything that you worked so hard for.**

No, Zayn thought, trying to push the thoughts out of his head.  No, they will not find out.  I will keep it hidden, even if it kills me.  I love all the boys, I will never let them know this secret. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Over the next week and a half things began to return to normal.  Rehearsals were going better; Zayn was finally remembering his queues and where he was supposed to be at all the right times.  He had always had the lowest level of stage presence among the band, but it was improving day by day.  There wasn’t nearly as many falls on stage, by Zayn or the other boys.  Zayn and his bandmates were able to have a laugh and joke around with each other.  Things were almost as they should be. 

 

Zayn was able to start eating more, and began putting on a little bit of the weight that he had lost.  His bruises were also healing well.  Instead of the angry black and blue marks that had littered his body, they had faded to yellow, green and brown, and the older ones were healed all together.  Zayn was still having nightmares almost every night, but he was able to deal better because the alphas had finally taken to sleeping in their own rooms.  After a nightmare it was easier to come out of it without the overwhelming smell of alpha surrounding him. 

 

The voices that Zayn kept hearing in his head did not go away; in fact they kept increasing daily.  They kept increasing in their hostility.  Zayn wouldn’t admit it; even to himself; but the words were getting to him.  His self-esteem had never been the highest, being an omega didn’t help that; but now the degrading words were being spoken in his own mind all the time.  He did not have a reprieve from the verbal abuse.  Like everything else Zayn pushed it to the back of his mind as best he could.  He had to save face to keep his secret hidden. 

 

Zayn still did not approach any of the alphas to talk to them about what was going on with him.  The other boys had not forgotten about their plan.  They knew that something was bothering Zayn and they needed to know what it was, even if he did seem to be getting better there was still obviously wrong.  Zayn would increasingly get a far off look in his eyes for a few moments before he would blink harshly and shake his head and come back to the present.  The band had two more days of long rehearsals before they got a day off to themselves.  If Zayn hadn’t come to any of them by that time, they were going to confront him. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The boys had just gotten back to the hotel, each of them excited for the day off that they had the next day.  The boys knew that they were finally going to find out what had been plaguing Zayn.  Zayn was happy to have a day to spend writing in his journal.  Due to the hectic days, he had been neglecting to write out what had been happening after he was reunited with the band. 

 

Zayn excused himself to go shower when they reached the hotel, agreeing to meet up in Harry’s room later for dinner and a movie marathon.  Just as Zayn was getting out of the shower he heard his phone ringing.  He hurried out of the bathroom, being careful not to slip on the damp tile to reach his phone, answering just before it went to voicemail, without looking at caller ID. 

 

“Hello?”

 

“You’re coming home tomorrow.  I have an alpha that is paying a large sum of money to have you.  I expect you here by noon.”  Zayn’s heart dropped as he heard his father’s voice on the other end of the phone. 

 

“Baba, you know I can’t just up and leave any time.  We have rehearsals.  The tour starts in just over two weeks,” Zayn said, panicked. 

 

“I don’t give a fuck about any of that!  The commitment has been made and you will be here.  If you’re not, I will call your management myself and tell them what your true status is.  Don’t for a minute think that I won’t,” Yaser sneered over the phone.  “I don’t care what kind of excuse you have to make.  You will be here, and you will be ready.” 

 

Yaser knew that he had backed his son into a corner that he could not get out of.  Yaser had spent a lot of time and energy in convincing him that omegas’ had no rights.  He had been able to easily brainwash Zayn into believing that if his bandmates or management knew that he was an omega, instead of treating him with the highest regard as they should, that they would use him and sell him.  He knew that his son hated to be sold, but the money was good, too good to turn down, and he really didn’t care about Zayn’s feelings.  It was easier for Yaser to convince Zayn of his made up lies because Zayn had little to no interaction with unmated omegas.  His only interactions being with the fans, but the fans spent their time telling him how beautiful he was and how much they loved him, not discussing topics such as omega and status rights. 

 

In reality, omegas were to be cherished, especially by alphas.  Male omegas in particular, were held in high regard due to their extreme rarity.  Yaser could not let Zayn find out the truth.  He would prey upon the fear that he had worked so hard to instil in Zayn to keep him compliant of his wishes. 

 

“Do you understand me you filthy whore?”

 

“Yes Baba.  I’ll be there by noon.”  Yaser hung up the phone without another word. 

 

Zayn stood where he was for a full five minutes, unable to move his feet from where they seemed to be glued to the floor.  His hear beat raced; he could hear it thundering in his ears.  His chest felt so tight, he could feel his chest rising and falling erratically but he couldn’t get enough air into his lungs.  His sight started to fill in with black spots and that is when he fell on his bed and began sobbing.  His heart felt like it was breaking.  He did not want to go through that again.  He couldn’t go through with it again.  He was terrified.  What was he going to do? 

 

When the boys came by his room later looking for him, since he had not made it to Harry’s room as planned, he buried himself in his blankets and pretended to be asleep.  Eventually the boys left, knowing that tomorrow they were going to have to confront the beta because he would not come to them on his own.  For now they would let him rest, tomorrow was sure to be a trying day for them all.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not really happy with this chapter, but here it is anyway. 
> 
> Shit is going to hit the fan in the next chapter!! I am really looking forward to writing it. Stay tuned!!


	4. Chapter 4

Zayn woke early the next morning so that he could be sure to leave before his bandmates got up, which wasn’t saying much as he knew on a day off they would not roll out of bed until at least noon anyway, but he couldn’t risk it.  He was usually the latest sleeper, but since he had spent most of the night curled in on himself crying and barley sleeping, it wasn’t hard to get up at a decent hour.  He knew that he was being a coward by avoiding the boys, but didn’t think that he would be able to look them in the eyes and lie about where he was going.  Zayn skipped his suppressant and as soon as he was packed and bathed he called Paul.

 

“Paul, I-I need a car to take me to Bradford.  I just got a call from my parents, there was an, uhh, f-f-family e-emergency and they need me h-home, it will just be for a couple of days,” Zayn stuttered out.  He wasn’t very concerned that he sounded upset; he hoped that it made his story more believable. 

 

Paul had been sleeping when Zayn called, but hearing the tremors in his charge’s voice was able to immediately pull himself up and be alert.  “Zayn, is everything all right?  Do you want someone to go with you?  The boys perhaps?” Paul stated his voice full of concern.  Paul found this request odd and out of character.

 

“No!  I mean, n-no.  I just need to get home to Bradford as soon as possible.  It should only take a couple of days.  Everything is f-fine,” Zayn lied with his heart in his stomach.  Paul wanted to protest and make Zayn take someone with him.  He too had noticed how Zayn came back from Bradford weak and malnourished.  He did not like the idea of Zayn going away again so soon, even if it was only for a couple of days. 

 

Paul bit back everything that he wanted to say; he was paid to take care of what the boys needed.  Who was he to stand in the way of Zayn and his family?  It must just be a coincidence that Zayn always returned worse for wear when he went to Bradford.  Paul agreed to have a car ready for him outside the hotel in 30 minutes. 

 

 

Zayn made his way downstairs to the lobby to get a quick bite to eat, knowing that it would probably be his last meal for a while.  He needed to have as much strength as he could to make it through the next couple of days.  At least Zayn hoped it would only last a couple of days; knowing his father... he didn’t know how long it would be.  If his father was bringing him home for this it was sure to be unpleasant. 

 

When the car arrived, Zayn walked out of the hotel without a backwards glance.  He had not left any messages or notes for his bandmates.  He had not said goodbye.  Once he was on the road, Zayn opened up his phone to look at his wallpaper; a photo of his four alpha bandmates, smiling and happy.  He knew that his bandmates would be furious that he left without saying anything to them.  He knew that they all were concerned about him.  The boys had never been to his home, he had been to all of theirs, but he knew better than to bring his bandmates into his father’s house.  Yaser could not stand the idea of anyone actually caring about his son.  Zayn feared for their safety if they ever did come to Bradford. 

 

**Make yourself a little less useless and protect them.  It is the only thing that you can do.  Worthless.  Whore.  Cock slut.  Go back home and do what you were made to do, get fucked and knotted until you can’t move.  You know you enjoy it.  You want it.**

 

Its better this way Zayn thought to himself.  The voices in his head were right.  He was worthless, and his body did want to be fucked and knotted, even if his mind didn’t want that.  Zayn had always dreamed that one day he would find an alpha that would care for him, just a little bit.  One who would ask if he was enjoying their ministrations.  An alpha who could one day possibly love him.  He knew it was a fantasy.  Omegas were at the bottom level of society.  Even given his fame, he would never find an alpha to love him, only one that fuck him and maybe not leave his body in shambles when they were done with him.

 

He didn’t think he would be able to hide a real relationship anyway.  His management would find out.  They had a hand in his whole life.  They would sell him just like his father did, even if he did find an alpha to bond with.  Management would pay off any potential bond. 

 

The fans would find out.  How would they react? 

 

**They will be so angry that they spent so much time idolizing a worthless piece of shit, that’s how they will react.  You’re already the least favorite of the band.  You have the least amount of followers on twitter, there are the fewest amount of signs in the crowds of girls proclaiming their undying love for you.  They already know that you are less than your bandmates and they still think you a beta.  They will turn on you in a heartbeat if they ever found out the truth.**

 

Try as he did, Zayn could not shut off the words playing inside his head, tearing him apart.  He felt his heart start to beat faster and his breath was coming in short gasps as he tried to calm himself.  With that, Zayn shut off his phone and closed his eyes, gripping his arms around his middle to try and hold himself together as he felt himself falling apart, eventually falling into an unrestful slumber. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Louis woke first and immediately he remembered the conversations that he and the other alphas had had the night before after they found Zayn asleep in his room.  Today was the day that they would confront Zayn.  Louis was worried about how Zayn would take their questioning; he had always been quite private, but it had to be done.  His heart hurt every time he was reunited with Zayn after a break and he would see how frail and sickly his best mate looked.  It was borderline dangerous. 

 

Louis quickly showered and got dressed before he went to Niall’s room to rouse him.  Louis then went to Harry and Liam’s rooms respectively.  By this time it was midafternoon.  The boys met outside Zayn’s room to begin trying to coax him out of his slumber.  Harry knocked on the door; they waited and there was no answer. 

 

“Zayn, c’mon mate.  You can’t stay in there forever,” Niall hollered through the door, pounding on it again. 

 

“He always was a heavy sleeper,” Liam sighed. 

 

Louis pulled out his phone and called Zayn’s number.  “That is weird, it went straight to voicemail.”  None of the boys ever turned off their phones.  Ever.  Granted, Zayn was always unreachable when they were on break, but he never shut his phone off.  They were always able to leave voice messages for him.

 

“Well so much for privacy…” Niall sighed as he pulled out the spare key card to Zayn’s room.  Niall opened the door and turned on the lights before bounding over to the mussed up bed and diving onto it yelling “Zaynster!!  It’s time to get up!!”

 

Niall was only met by a pile of pillows and blankets, not a sleeping boy, probably a good thing because had Zayn been there the force of Niall jumping on the bed like he did could have broken some bones.  Niall looked up in confusion at the other boys, “He’s not here.”  The boys quickly checked the whole room before determining that Zayn was not there and that some of his belongings were missing. 

 

“I’m worried.  Something isn’t right,” Liam stated, “I’m going to call Paul.”

 

Liam quickly dialed Paul’s number and explained that Zayn was not in his room, some of his things were missing and that his phone was off.  “Zayn left for Bradford early this morning.  Said there was a family emergency.  He’ll be back in a couple of days.”  Liam was stunned.  Zayn left without saying anything to them?  “I didn’t want to let him go Liam, but I had no choice.”

 

“Yeah, Paul I understand.”  Liam thanked Paul for the information and turned back to the other alphas.  “He’s gone.”

 

“What do you mean he is gone!?” Harry shouted. 

 

“He told Paul that he got a call from home.  There was some family emergency.  He asked for a car to take him to Bradford,” Liam explained, still feeling numb.

 

“If there was a family emergency, why wouldn’t he tell one of us at least?  What if he needs us?  What if it is something really bad?  We should be there for him!” Niall stated all of this while getting increasingly worked up.  The blonde did not like the idea of Zayn being without them when he didn’t know what the beta was hiding from them. 

 

“He knows that we are here for him.  If he needs us, he will call us.”  Liam tried to make the statement believable to sooth his mates, but it was hard when he didn’t even know if there was truth to his words. 

 

“He didn’t even say goodbye,” said Louis dejectedly looking at the other alphas. 

 

“I just hope that he comes back to us better than he did last time,” Harry said sadly. 

 

The alphas were very worried.  This wasn’t like Zayn to just up and leave.  He always seemed to come back from Bradford worse off than before.  What was going on with their mate?

 

“We will give him three days.  If he is not back in London we will go to Bradford ourselves,” Liam said finally. 

 

“Why don’t we go now?  It’s only a few hours’ drive, and then we can be sure,” Niall started saying before he was interrupted by Liam.

 

“Because the Malik’s are very private, we haven’t even been allowed to go to their house.  If there was a family emergency that Zayn didn’t tell us about then they don’t want us to know about it.  It is not our place to butt in where we are not wanted.  We will wait, give him time to come back or to call us and tell us what is going on.  He knows that we will be worried, he’ll let us know that he is okay eventually.”

 

The other boys agreed.  It was going to be a long three days.  They all just hoped that Zayn would be back by then so that everything could be sorted out.  They all knew that they could not handle something like this happening again. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn arrived at his parents’ house in Bradford at 11:05 AM.  He knew enough to show up early.  He grabbed his bag and thanked his driver; slowly walking towards the door as his last hope of freedom drove away.  Zayn walked into the house and immediately felt a large hand grab his upper arm in a vice grip. 

 

Yaser was quite large for a beta; he was often times confused with an alpha because of his stature and demeanor.  Yaser yanked his son and threw him into the wall.  Zayn hit shoulder first and grunted in pain.  Yaser then grabbed his son by his throat and squeezed hard, cutting off the air to Zayn’s lungs “How dare you back mouth me you filthy little slut!  When I tell you to come home, you do it without comment!” Yaser roared his face mere inches away from Zayn’s. 

 

Yaser reared back and backhanded Zayn across his face.  Zayn cried out, feeling blood rush to his cheek, heating it up and begin to swell.  Tears formed in his eyes but he refused to let them fall.  Yaser grabbed Zayn by his hair and began dragging him through the house and out the back door.  Yaser made his way to the shed and shoved Zayn down onto the doorstep and holding him down with his boot pressed to the back of the omega’s neck while he unlocked the door.  When the door was opened, Yaser bent down and grabbed Zayn’s ankle drug him into the shed, roughly tossing him onto the bed. 

 

“Now you’re in for a real treat today you little cunt.  An alpha is paying $5 million to have you as a present to his twin brother.  Why anyone would pay that amount of money to fuck a useless omega like you I’ll never know,” Yaser scoffed.  “Clean yourself up, these alphas will want you looking your best, faggot.  Has your heat started yet?”

 

“No Father, but I skipped my suppressant, I promise.”  Zayn said earnestly. 

 

“Well I hope that you don’t start before they get here.  They requested that you not be in heat.”  Yaser knew from the treatment that the test patients at the pharmaceutical company that another side effect of the drug was that the omega may be unable to experience a heat again.  He did not tell Zayn that though, he would figure it out soon enough.  Really there was no point in Zayn being on the suppressants anymore, but why tip off the omega when he can watch the torture and uncertainty himself.  It gave Yaser a sort of vindictive pleasure to keep this information from his son.  “Good for me, I was out of the drug anyway and it seemed like you liked it too much last time anyway.  I don’t think that you learned your lesson.”

 

Yaser left the shed, locking it and going back into the house to await the arrival of the alphas.  Zayn was left to wait in fear by himself.  Yaser had never scheduled two alphas for him at the same time.  He was not sure what to expect, but was smart enough to know that nothing good could come of this.  His face hurt and he could feel the swelling around his eye and throat as bruises began to form.  He was not use to injuries there.  Yaser was always very careful that no marks were left that couldn’t be covered up. 

 

**Guess this time the money was too much to care.**

 

Internally, Zayn was beginning to panic; he knew that he should be starting to feel the effects of his heat by now; it had been over 24 hours, closer to 28 since he had had his last suppressant.  It had never taken this long for his heat to come on before.  He didn’t want the drugs his father gave him last time because he had been able to feel everything, but knew if his heat did not come on before the alphas arrived, his life could be in danger. 

 

The alphas would surely want to knot him, and if his body was not producing enough slick, the knot would tear him inside causing him to need medical attention.  Once the alphas had started, he knew they would not stop for anything.  For the first time in his life, Zayn began praying for his heat to start. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

A short time later, Yaser’s doorbell rang.  He greeted the alphas at the door warmly, thinking only of the amount of money that he would be getting for this escapade, grinning widely.  The alphas standing at the door were large, larger than most alphas.  Both were over six and a half feet tall, and weighed over 350 pounds each.  They were well muscled, with hardly any fat on them with light hair and red faces.  They were identical, with the exception of their haircuts.

 

The light-haired alpha with a buzz cut shook Yaser’s hand and introduced himself as Dillon and his brother as David.  David had longer shaggier hair than his brother as well as a more wild look in his eyes.  David’s appearance was wild and dangerous.  David looked at Yaser and said “Where is the whore?  My rut is due and I’ve never had a male omega slut.” 

 

For a moment Yaser thought that he may have made a poor decision in agreeing to these alphas coming to his home.  They were not what he pictured multimillionaires to look like.  These two men did not look like they could afford the price that Yaser had requested for his son.  He was expecting men in business suits or at least button-down, collared shirts.  These men were in jeans and t-shirts with trainers on their feet.

 

Yaser looked between the two alphas and stated, “He is out back in the shed, as soon as I get my money, I will take you to him,” not letting himself be intimidated by the large alphas. 

 

“Yes, of course.  About that… we won’t actually be paying for these services,” Dillon stated straight faced, leaving no room for argument.

 

Yaser looked at the two men in confusion.  Warning bells were going off in his head, but the dollar signs in his eyes outweighed his concern, “What do you mean?  We have an agreement!” Yaser yelled. 

 

“We did have an agreement,” Dillon stated smugly.  “Now I have changed my mind.  My brother and I will have your worthless omega and you will let us.”

 

“Now why in the fuck would I allow that!?”  Yaser yelled in shock.  This was the most preposterous thing that he had ever heard.  How dare these alphas come to his home and make such outlandish statements.  He did not care for his son, but if he had to suffer the embarrassment of having an omega son, he was going to be well compensated for it.  It hadn’t been released to the media yet, but Yaser was being charged criminally for the damage done to the omega test subjects that his team had used for the drug.  The money that these alphas were to pay would surely be enough to pay his way out of going to prison. 

 

Without saying anything, David reached into his back pocket, pulled out a knife, and lunged forward stabbing Yaser repeatedly in the chest and neck.  Yaser didn’t even know what hit him as he grunted in pain and fell to the floor, knocking over a side table and lamp.  The noise of the breaking glass echoed through the house.  Zayn’s mum, Tricia heard the commotion and hurried from the kitchen to the foyer.

 

“Yaser, what was that noise?  Are the alphas here for Zayn?”  Tricia stopped when she saw her husband lying on the ground bleeding profusely and struggling for breath.  “Yaser!”  It was then that Tricia noticed the alphas and the bloody knife in David’s hand.  Tricia turned and began running back through the house toward the kitchen to find anything to defend herself with. 

 

David rushed forward and tackled Tricia to the ground.  He brought the knife up to her throat and sliced through the flesh there, down to the bone. 

 

“Good job David.  Now are you ready to see how many times it takes to fuck the omega until he is fucked to death?” Dillon said with a laugh. 

 

“I just hope that a male omega can last longer than the females that we have had before.  The last omega only lasted for nine days before she dropped dead.  That was only 97 knots.  This one better last through at least 100,” David said with a sick smile. 

 

“Let’s go claim our prize.  He won’t know what hit him.”

 

With their dying breaths, Yaser and Tricia watched the two alphas grab the keys from the hook by the door and walk towards the back of the house and out the back door. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a shorter chapter, but I knew that if I didn't post it now that I wouldn't be able to until next week and did not want to make you all wait that long!! 
> 
> Thank you all for your nice comments and kudos. I love hearing from you! 
> 
> What do you think will happen to Zayn? Will he be able to get away before the alphas get to him? Wait and see! 
> 
> Any mistakes or errors in these last couple of chapters, please chalk up to the painkillers that I am on!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING - graphic description of rape and violence.

Outside Zayn heard mumbling voices that got louder and clearer the closer they came to the shed.  He heard the lock on the door of the shed start to jiggle.  Through his fear he heard one of the alphas say “I can’t believe that the beta fool thought that we were actually going to pay that much for an omega slut!  I don’t care if it is a male!” with a slightly maniacal laugh. 

 

Another voice, similar to the first but more cool and collected stated “I know, David.  But you took care of him and his pretty beta bitch.” 

 

Zayn’s face paled; his heat had not even begun to start yet, it was too soon.  What did the alphas mean about taking care of his parents?  Never mind that now, he could worry about that later.  All Zayn knew is that he had to get away.  This was not going to be like the other times he was sold.  Without his body forming slick, taking a lone alpha could kill him, let alone two alphas.  He looked around frantically for a place to hide in the small room. Before the door could open, Zayn slid to the floor, laid on his stomach and squirmed his way under the bed.  Just as his feet disappeared under the bed, the door opened and Zayn saw two pairs of legs enter the shed.  The door closed and was locked firmly behind them. 

 

“Where is the whore?!” one of the alphas screamed.

 

“He’s got to be in here somewhere.  I can smell his fear,” the second alpha said calmly. 

 

There wasn’t very many places for someone to hide in the shed.  The alphas checked the bathroom and the small closet and didn’t find anything.  Dillon glanced at the bed knowingly.  He signaled to his brother, indicating where the omega was hiding. 

 

Zayn watched the alpha’s feet as they approached his hiding place, his heart thumping loudly in his chest.  One of the alphas began walking towards the foot of the bed and out of Zayn’s line of site, maybe they didn’t know he was there after all.  Zayn held his breath, hoping that they would think that he had somehow escaped before they entered. 

 

Suddenly Zayn felt a tight grip on his ankle.  Zayn screamed as his body was harshly pulled out from under the bed and he found himself hanging upside down by grip that the alpha had on him.  “Look what I found Dillon!  Little bitty omega was hiding under the bed!” the alpha taunted in a mocking voice.  Zayn felt the wind knocked out of him when the alpha dropped him to the floor.  Zayn didn’t have any time to recover as the same alpha grabbed him by the back of his neck and easily tossed him on the bed.  “You stupid slut, don’t you know you are supposed to be waiting for us on the bed, not under it?  And you are wearing entirely too many clothes.”

 

“Now, now David… Don’t be rude.  The nasty little slut is just playing hard to get.  Probably want us to introduce ourselves to him so that he can seduce us with his omega charms.  Isn’t that right you little bitch?” 

 

Zayn could only glance between the two alphas in horror.  His eyes were huge and tear filled.  He tried to regain his composure and be brave, but he was so scared.  He had never seen alphas that large before.  There was no way that he could possibly fight them off.  Zayn was muscular, but he still had a small and thin frame.  These alphas could easily tear him in half.  As Zayn was looking at them, he noticed that the one that had pulled him out from the bed and something red dripping from his hand.  Oh my god… was that blood?  Zayn’s thoughts momentarily rushed to his parents and what he had heard the alphas say before they entered the shed.  Zayn pushed the thoughts away.  He had to focus on his own survival now.  Maybe he could buy himself some time…

 

“Please…”

 

“My name is Dillon,” the calmer alpha explained.  “This here is my brother, David.  I just want you to know that you don’t have to try to play coy.  Our ruts are synchronized, and they are about to start.  This won’t take much effort by you.  All you have to do is last as long as you can.  When you don’t think that you can last or cum anymore… just tell us.”

 

“Really….?”  Zayn was confused.  Alphas couldn’t stop when they went into a rut. 

 

“Yes.  When that time comes is when the real fun begins,” said David with a sly smile on his face.  He looked like that was the point that he was looking forward to most. 

 

“Please… I haven’t started my heat…” Zayn begged, not even caring that there were tears running down his face.  He was really scared.  His whole body started trembling.

 

Both alphas eyed him with glee.  “Awwww is the little omega slut scared?” David asked.  Zayn obediently nodded his head in response, knowing that was in his best interest to ignore the insult. 

 

“Well I assure you little slut, you are not scared enough,” Dillon stated with confidence. 

 

“But you will be,” David stated, finishing Dillon’s thought.  With that David lunged at Zayn and using his superior strength ripped Zayn’s hoodie from the neck down and pulled it harshly from his body, exposing his torso, which still bore the signs of malnutrition and bruising.  It happened too fast for Zayn to even process what was happening.  By the time Zayn could move, Dillon had pounced on the bed and had his hands on Zayn’s hips attempting to pull down his pants.

 

Zayn fought back, trying to escape the alpha twins.  He lashed out with his hands and feet, attempting to make enough contact to be able to get away.  He didn’t know what he would do if he did get away; the only door had been locked by the alphas, there was no way he was getting the key and the windows were barred.  All he could do though was focus on trying to get away from the alphas. 

 

His attempts were futile.  Any blow that he landed did not faze the alpha twins.  His attempts to fight back were as effective as trying to stop a train with a tennis racket.  The alphas could hardly tell that he was fighting back.  They were too strong and quickly falling into their ruts.  There was nothing he could do, but he could not just sit back and let this happen.  This was different than any other time before.  All the other times Zayn knew that he would be hurt, but his life wasn’t in real danger.  This time, the omega feared for his life.  He continued to struggle.

 

Dillon lifted Zayn off the bed completely by gripping him around his stomach, pinning his arms down, David was able to pull off Zayn’s pants and boxers.  Zayn was completely exposed, though he still continued to kick out with his feet.  David reached out a large hand and roughly grabbed Zayn’s soft cock and began furiously stoking it in an attempt to get him hard.  Zayn screamed out in pain, David’s palm dry and burning against his sensitive skin.

 

“Yeah baby, that’s it.  Scream, you know you are going to love this,” David said with his voice full of lust.  “Dillon, I want him first.  You will let me have him first right?”

 

“Of course, I got him for you.  How do you want him?” Dillon asked. 

 

“On his hands and knees, like the bitch he is.  I want to fuck his pretty little ass into the mattress, David responded. 

 

Without another word Dillon flipped Zayn onto his stomach on the bed and pulled up his hips, positioning himself while David removed his own clothes.  Dillon held Zayn still as David came up behind him and lined his dick up with Zayn’s still dry hole.  From the position that he was in Zayn was not able to see David’s cock, but it didn’t matter.  When Dillon slammed into him, balls deep, on the first thrust, he could feel every inch of the massive cock.  Zayn screamed so loud his voice broke, new tears flowed from his eyes.  He felt like he was ripping in half. 

 

“Oh my god!!  Dillon he is so tight!  He feels so good.  He is such a pretty thing too.”

 

David gave him no time to adjust before he was setting himself up for a brutal pace of pulling almost all the way out, leaving in only the tip, and then slamming back in.  Zayn felt a wetness slipping down his thighs that was not slick.  He could smell the blood that was leaking out of him from the brutal assault.  Zayn continued screaming and sobbing, he was in utter agony. 

 

Dillon quickly tired of the retched noise that was coming from Zayn’s mouth.  He removed his clothing and got on his knees in front of Zayn and slapped him across his face.  Zayn’s arms gave out from the impact of Dillon’s palm and he landed on his chest.  Dillon then grabbed the hair at the back of Zayn’s head, yanking him up and pulling his head back.  Dillon wasted no time in shoving his fully hard dick in Zayn’s mouth and down his throat.  Zayn immediately ceased the noises he was making because he was not able to breathe and started violently gagging.  Dillon’s prick was just as big as his twins.  Dillon pulled back after a moment only to repeat his actions again and again.  Soon Dillon and David were synchronized in their thrusts in and out of Zayn’s already ravished body. 

 

Both alphas continued to moan out in ecstasy with every thrust.  It was enough to make Zayn’s skin crawl.  

 

David’s large cock was hitting Zayn’s prostate on every thrust.  Zayn was horrified when he realized that even through the pain; his cock was betraying him and beginning to harden.  David had his hands gripping Zayn’s hips like a vice, new bruises already forming in the shape of his hands.  His hands were so large that his thumbs were on either side of Zayn’s spine with his fingers wrapping around his sides and almost meeting below his belly button.  David moved one of his hands and gripped Zayn’s cock again and began tugging none to gently. 

 

“Getting hard already, huh omega whore?  I told you you would like it!” David panted. 

 

Zayn was hard, but he still was not producing slick.  He prayed that he would numb and loose himself so that he could avoid the pain that was wracking his body.  He was devastated to find that he couldn’t.  The stimuli was too much for Zayn’s body, before he knew it, against his will, he came hard in to David’s hand and onto the sheets below him. 

 

“That’s it omega bitch!!  Cum for us!!  That was number one,” Dillon yelled as he reached his own climax, shooting his cum down Zayn’s throat.  Zayn began choking and coughing on the thick sticky substance as Dillon pulled out of his mouth.  After a few more harsh thrusts, Zayn felt David cum deep within his body. 

 

David pulled out when he was done and Zayn collapsed onto the mattress, too utterly spent to even continue sobbing.  Silent tears were still running down his cheeks and his eyes were unfocused and staring blankly ahead. 

 

“Oh no baby; we are not done yet.  You need to stay awake and coherent.  I want to hear you scream our names.” Dillon stated.  “It’s my turn now.”

 

With that Dillon grabbed Zayn and flipped him so that he was on his back.  Dillon grabbed the back of his knees and easily pinned them to Zayn’s chest and plowed into his damaged hole.  Zayn found his voice again at the contact and let out another cry.  Dillon silenced the sound by attacking Zayn’s mouth with his own, forcing his tongue in and then harshly biting at his bottom lip, drawing blood.  Dillon pulled away only to look at his brother and say “You were so right, he is so tight.  I thought a slut like this would be loose, but he isn’t and I am so glad.” 

 

Dillon then let go of Zayn’s knees and they fell on either side of him, Zayn to weak from pain to be able to hold them up on his own.  Dillon ran his hands up and down Zayn’s chest, pinching his nipples in the process.  David sat back and watched the scene unfold and began palming himself.  Dillon reached one hand down and began wanking Zayn, who was hard again, his other hand grabbed Zayn’s throat and began to squeeze, cutting off his air supply.  The actions together sent Zayn over the edge again, covering his stomach with his own cum. 

 

“That is two.  You are on a roll bitch!” David said in a gleeful singsong voice. 

 

Dillon pulled out quickly and laid down on his back, pulling Zayn to his lap and thrusting up into him.  Dillon tightened his grip on Zayn’s hips and began bouncing him up and down on his cock at a frightening pace.  Dillon then pulled Zayn down so they were lying chest to chest, gripped his arse in his hands and held him still as he fucked up into Zayn like a jackrabbit.  It didn’t take long until Dillon was spilling into him with a loud grunt.  When Dillon was done, he lifted Zayn up and tossed him to the floor.

 

Zayn was in too much pain to move so he stayed where he landed.  He didn’t get much of a reprieve though.  David rolled him onto his back and straddled his chest, trying to shove his dick into Zayn’s mouth.  Without thinking, Zayn opened his mouth and nipped at the appendage being forced into his mouth.  David pulled back with a scream, shoving Zayn away.  “The fucking whore bit me!” David yelled to Dillon with his hand holding his dick. 

 

Zayn backed up away from the twins as fast as he could, suddenly even more scared than he was before.  His back bumped into the corner of the wall and he curled up as small as he could there.  He knew immediately that he had made a mistake in fighting back by biting like he had.  He couldn’t help it though, he was defending himself the only way that he could.  Zayn’s eyes were huge as he saw the alpha, Dillon he said his name was, get up quickly and move to his brother’s side to examine him.  Dillon carefully took David’s penis out of his brothers’ hand and held it gently, moving it to see the teeth marks and blood bubbling to the surface of the skin. 

 

Dillon then turned around slowly to face Zayn.  The look on Dillon’s face was livid.  “Who do you think you are omega?  You forgot your place.  You are going to pay for that.  I will make sure you never forget your status again.”  With a menacing look in his eyes, Dillon stalked across the room towards Zayn.   

 

As Zayn watched his approach he began shaking in fear, his blood turning cold in his veins. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another short chapter, but I know I won't be able to write more until Monday as I am leaving in a few hours to head to Detroit for the concert and I need to get some sleep tonight! I know I left you all on a huge cliffhanger before and did not want to make you wait to long for an update!
> 
> I love reading your comments, so please keep them coming!! Thank you for reading!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING - Graphic descriptions of rape & violence. 
> 
> This will be the last chapter that contains graphic descriptions.

Dillon stalked up to Zayn who was quaking in fear.  So fast Zayn’s eyes could not follow, Dillon reached out, grabbed him by his arm and yanked him to his feet.  Dillon pulled Zayn towards him and held him flush against his body as he sunk his teeth into the skin between Zayn’s neck and shoulder, breaking the skin.  Zayn felt his body submit to the alphas will, all fight leaving his body as the alpha growled, the vibrations running through his bones. 

 

Dillon held his grip on Zayn for a few minutes after he had felt the omega submit completely.  Alphas only bite an omega when they have misbehaved or to settle them, and never for longer than necessary.  Before fully letting go it is an alphas responsibility to lick the wound closed, to sooth the omega.  Holding on for too long and not sealing the mark runs the risk of breaking the omega’s mind in a way that may not be reversible.  It is not a practice that is used very often, and when it is it should only be used with great care.  Dillon did not seal the wound when he let go.  Instead he loosed his grip on Zayn completely allowing him to collapse on the ground in a heap. 

 

David watched the punishment while he recovered from the omega’s attack.  He however was unsatisfied with his brother’s actions.  He pulled himself up and slowly walked towards the breaking omega.  When he reached the raven haired boy he pulled his foot back and brought it forward, connecting it to Zayn’s stomach with a sickening thud.  The air was pushed out of Zayn’s lungs and he struggled to catch his breath through the pain.  David fell to his knees and began punching Zayn over and over, connecting with his face, chest and arms.  All Zayn could do was try to block the blows as best as he could. 

 

Finally after what seemed like an eternity to Zayn, David seemed satisfied and ceased his assault, leaving Zayn bruised and bloodied gasping for air through his tears and sobs. 

 

“Do you feel better now brother?” Dillon asked his twin. 

 

“Yeah.  Yeah, I do,” David said with a smile.  “I’m ready for to go again.  Care to hold him for me?”

 

“It would be my pleasure.”

 

Dillon picked up Zayn off the floor where he was curled in on himself by his thighs.  David pumped himself a few times to make sure that he was hard again.  Dillon positioned Zayn so his back was against Dillon’s chest, then moved him towards his brother who was leaning against the wall.  David held his dick while Dillon manhandled Zayn and impaled him on his brother’s cock.  Dillon continued to fuck Zayn up and down on his brother’s length.  David began moaning in pleasure at the feeling of Zayn’s warmth surrounding him.  David moved his hand around Zayn’s body and grabbed his soft cock that was still very sensitive and began wanking him hard and fast until they both came. 

 

After that Zayn’s mind went black.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn became aware of what was happening to him several times, but the darkness in his mind was always quick to overtake him again.  He would hear the alphas shout out each time he had an orgasm.  In his lucid moments Zayn felt, heard, and smelled the alphas on him.  He felt more bites and marks left on his skin.  He felt the damage being done to is hole as the alphas continued to constantly pound into him mercilessly.  He felt the blood, sweat, tears and cum drying on his skin before he gratefully let the darkness take over again. 

 

Zayn had no idea how much time had passed with the alpha twins passing him back and forth.  He heard the alphas call out “eight,” “20,” “42.”  The alphas had far more stamina than the omega did.  His body continued to get weaker as the hours and days drug by at a snail’s pace. 

 

Zayn wished for death. 

 

At one point Zayn came back into the light, being fucked hard and roughly into the floor.  Zayn’s joints felt like they were full of glass shards, his body burned like fire at every touch of the alphas.  His body was trembling uncontrollably, his insides quivering.  Zayn could not remember anything other than pain.  He had no recollection of his life before the twins.  He would not have been able to tell you about his family or his band.  Zayn was so far gone into pain that he could not even tell you his name. 

 

The darkness was not peaceful either.  The darkness was filled with voices taunting him and ripping him down. 

 

**You deserve this.**

**Less than human.**

**Omega filth.**

**This is your life now.**

**You should give up.**

**You are not making it out of here alive.**

**No one will save you.**

**No one cares about you.**

**Stupid omega slut, take it like the whore you are.**

Over and over the voices repeated in his head.  He absently wondered how much more his body would withstand before it could not take any more.  He prayed for the day to come that that the blackness would be accompanied by silence and he would never have to awaken again. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn woke again, sometime later.  He was spent.  He couldn’t do this anymore.  He tried to tell the alphas that he was done, he couldn’t cum anymore.  He couldn’t last through another fuck.  He tried, but his throat was too dry and scratchy from the beating it had taken while the alphas had violently fucked his face.  The only thing that his body had consumed since the alphas had entered the shed was the alpha twin’s cum. 

 

Somehow Dillon heard Zayn trying to speak.

 

“What is that little bitch?  What are you trying to say?”

 

Zayn tried again, but all he could manage was one word.  “Done.”

 

“You hear that David?  The omega is done.  Time to really start this party.”  Dillon stated with pure glee and anticipation. 

 

“It’s about damn time!”

 

With that Dillon lay down on his back and quickly impaled Zayn on his waiting cock.  Dillon pulled him forward, so the two were lying chest to chest and held him there with his strong arms around Zayn’s torso. 

 

David came up behind him and positioned himself at Zayn’s entrance.  Zayn was coherent enough to know what was going to happen.  He tried to struggle, he really did. 

 

He never stood a chance. 

 

David quickly and thrust himself into Zayn alongside his brother, both alphas moaning at the tightness. 

 

Zayn thought that he had known pain before.  He was wrong.  He felt his body tear.  He knew he was being torn in half.  He screamed in agony; new waves of tears rolling down his face like a waterfall. 

 

The alphas allowed no time for adjustment, they instantaneously began thrusting in and out of Zayn in a hard rhythm.  At the same time, the alphas began squeezing his torso, he couldn’t move, he couldn’t breathe. 

 

The darkness took him again. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It had been two days.  Harry, Liam, Niall and Louis had attempted to enjoy their first day off, but without Zayn, it was a somber affair.  They spent the day watching movies and catching up with their family and friends.  The next day they went back to rehearsals.  It was a disaster.  None of them could get their placements right and their voices were off.  Finally they called it an early night.  The four alphas were worried and frustrated.  They didn’t want to cause themselves more stress and quite before they dug themselves any deeper than they already were. 

 

All of the boys had tried to call and text Zayn several times with no success. 

 

The next morning Louis couldn’t take it anymore.  He gathered the other boys in his room and looked them all in the eye. 

 

“Something is wrong.  I don’t know how I know, but I do.  I can feel it in here,” he said pointing to his heart.  “I know we said we would give him three days, but we need to go now.”

 

The other boys looked at each other.

 

“I agree, I feel something too, but I can’t place it,” said Harry gently. 

 

Liam looked at Niall and nodded his head.  Niall agreed.  “Alright it is settled, we will leave now, said Liam with finality.  “I think we should take Paul, if something really is wrong, we may need him.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Liam found Paul in his hotel room.  “Paul, the boys and I want to go to Bradford.”

 

“You want to find Zayn?” Paul said knowingly. 

 

“Yes.  We have a bad feeling,” Liam told Paul honestly.  “Please Paul, maybe we are overreacting but… we are all really worried.”

 

Paul didn’t say anything for a while, thinking over the request.  Paul couldn’t deny that he was also worried about the beta, he had noticed how he always came back from Bradford looking ill and tired.  Paul also thought it was strange that Zayn had to go home so suddenly without an explanation.  Finally Paul looked to Liam again, “Okay, get the other boys.  We will leave in 15 minutes.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The long ride to Bradford was filled with tension.  None of the alphas could make good conversation.  Every attempt ended almost before it started.  All of them were lost in their own thoughts, each thinking of the worst thing that they could find out when they finally confront Zayn.  It seemed to take twice as long as it normally would for the journey. 

 

When they finally arrived at Zayn’s parents’ house, all of them were stressed and anxious.  None of them had ever been to the betas house before, nor had they met his parents or any of his family members before.  They secretly wondered what they would be like.  They hoped that Zayn would not be angry for showing up unannounced when he clearly did not want them there; but they were just too worried to care. 

 

The five alphas stepped out of the van and slowly made their way up the walkway to the front door.  Paul led the way and knocked on the door when he reached it.  To his surprise, the door pushed open slightly, the latch having not been secured before. 

 

The smell hit Paul first, the boys got a whiff of it only seconds later.  It was a thick metallic smell mixed with the undeniable stench of rotting flesh.  Paul pushed the door open the rest of the way and shouted when he saw the bodies of Yaser and Tricia Malik lying on the floor in the foyer.  Immediately he turned to Liam and told him to contact the police.  The boys had pushed forward and saw the scene laid out before them.  Liam pulled out his phone and contacted the police. 

 

Liam spoke into the phone and informed the dispatcher “I need the police and an ambulance, there are two bodies.”  Liam provided the address and ended the phone call.  He was too worried about Zayn to stay on the phone. 

 

“Boys I want you to go back to the van and wait.  I am going to look for Zayn,” Paul said firmly.  The boys all began protesting.  There is no way that they were going to go and wait in the van when their mate could be hurt inside. 

 

“Okay okay!!  I had to try you know that.  Just stay behind me and keep an eye out.  We don’t know what we could find,” Paul relented.

 

Paul continued into the house hugging the wall as he passed the bodies of Zayn’s parents.  Once they were past the foyer, Harry stopped and sniffed the air.  “Do you smell that?”

 

“What?” Paul asked. 

 

“Omega. I smell an omega.” 

 

“Zayn’s whole entire family are betas.  Why would an omega be here?”  Niall asked.  All of the other alphas sniffed the air. 

 

“I also smell alpha.  Multiple alphas.”  Harry pointed out. 

 

“What is going on here?” Louis asked.  It was a rhetorical question, he knew that his companions were just as confused as he was. 

 

“C’mon boys,” Paul said.  The alphas smell followed the same path as the omegas.  Paul had a sinking feeling in his gut as he followed the smells through the house.  They quickly made their way through the entire house, checking every room and closet that they came across.  There was no sign of Zayn.  Finally they decided to follow the smells of the unknown alphas and omega and moved together out the back door. 

 

Once outside they were able to view the shed.  Paul’s attention was brought immediately to the lock on the outside of the door and the bars on the windows.  That was strange… why would there be locks and bars on the shed.  Something strange was going on here. 

 

The five alphas looked at each other; worry clear in all their eyes.  Slowly they made their way towards the shed. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Inside the shed, Zayn had just come out of the darkness, back into the world of pain and agony.  He was laid out on the bed again and both alpha twins were standing over him wanking themselves.  They came simultaneously, coating Zayn in another layer of cum. 

 

Dillon and David had been doubling up on Zayn about every third orgasm.  David was ready for more. 

 

“Dillon, I think it is time to knot him.”

 

“I agree it looks like he is on his last leg.  Kind of disappointing.  I expected him to be able to last longer.  He is only at 84 but he did it in under three days.  His cock cums more than a pussy.  But he is on the small side; no doubt that makes him weaker.  Next time I will find a bigger omega.”

 

“Which end do you want David?”

 

“I want his mouth.  One last payback for that bite.  I still haven’t forgotten about that.”

 

“Alright,” Dillon stated with a smile. 

 

The twins got Zayn into position on his hands and knees and placed themselves in their chosen spots.  The alphas looked at each other in the eyes before thrusting into Zayn at the same time; Dillon in his abused arse, and David in his mouth.  The alphas thrust in and out, moaning and growling at the sensation.  They continued over and over again, working themselves up more and more.  Both were pushing in balls deep, Zayn was choking on every thrust, he couldn’t breathe. 

 

The alpha twins felt their knots starting to form and their thrusts became erratic and sloppy.  Finally they both thrust in just as their knots popped at the same time, they began spilling their massive loads of cum into Zayn. 

 

Zayn could feel cum shooting into his arse at a strong steady pace.  He felt his lower belly beginning to fill with it and start protruding.  However that was not his main concern.  David’s knot had popped in his mouth, preventing the dick from being able to pull out of his mouth.  He felt cum shooting into his throat, but he was unable to attempt to swallow it all, it was shooting out too thick and fast.  It began filling up his mouth, the knot blocking it from escaping from his lips.  Zayn tried desperately to get a breath but only succeeding in allowing cum to start seeping down his throat and into his lungs. 

 

This was it.  There was no way to get away from this.  Zayn felt another pang of fear, he knew that he was going to die.  Above that though, Zayn felt relief.  It was all going to be over.  His pain would end.  With the feeling of cum still shooting into him from both ends, Zayn gratefully slipped into the darkness for the last time. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The alphas were able to smell the omega clearly now, along with blood and cum as they slowly approached the shed.  “The omega is not in heat,” Harry stated.  “With the smell of cum this strong, the omega should be in heat.”

 

“Your right,” Paul admitted.  “I have a really bad feeling.” 

 

“It smells vaguely familiar, don’t you think?” asked Louis. 

 

Niall nodded, “Yeah it does, but I can’t place it.”

 

The alphas reached the door of the shed.  Slowly, Paul leaned in front of the barred window and peaked inside.  His eyes widened dramatically at the scene before him.  He was so shocked that he momentarily backed away from the window.  The boys, seeing his reaction, hurried forward to look for themselves at what had stunned their alpha manager and security. 

 

What the boys saw was their friend, their bandmate, being violently fucked in both his mouth and his arse by two huge alphas.  Zayn was a wreck.  His eyes were open, but they looked dead.  There was no life in his eyes; his normal sparkle had vanished.

 

Zayn was covered in cum and sweat and blood from head to toe.  It was matted in his hair and dried all over his skin.  His skin itself was nothing but a collection of black, blue and red bruises with a heavy scattering of scratch marks and finger nail impressions. 

 

Every knob of his spine was clearly visible, his face was sunken and he had deep purple bags under his eyes.  His ribs were standing out against his taunt skin, easily able to be counted.  His fingers, arms, and legs looked skeletal.  His stomach was grossly concaved, and indent visible under his ribs where there was nothing there to hold the sink out. 

 

The boys could only stand there in shock.  It took a moment for it to process in their minds.  It hit Liam first.  “Zayn is an omega.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

After the realization that what Liam stated was correct, Paul came out of his trance; he quickly reached for the door, unlocking it and throwing it open.  The five alphas only saw red as they charged at the alpha twins.  Paul grabbed the one who was stuck in Zayn’s mouth in a headlock, Liam following suit with the other alpha.  The alpha twins were too lost in the pleasure of their knots to do much fighting back. 

 

“GET OUT OF HIM!!” Niall roared as he and Harry rushed at the twins and began punching every inch of them with all they fury they could muster.

 

Louis noticed first “Oh my god!!  They knotted him!!  He is not in heat, and they knotted him!!  What do we do?”

 

Paul looked quickly and observed that Louis was right.  Thinking quickly he looked at Louis and yelled “Go back into the house and get a knife from the kitchen; we have to cut the knots out of him!  Go hurry now!”

 

Louis turned on his heel and ran as fast as his legs could carry him.  He slid into the kitchen wildly looking around for a knife.  He didn’t know what kind would work best; he wasn’t sure what Paul had meant when he said that they were going to have to cut them out of Zayn.  Louis quickly grabbed the whole butchers block that sat on the counter and ran back to the shed. 

 

Harry and Niall were still pounding away at the alpha twins who were beginning to come down from their orgasmic high.  Louis thrust the butchers block at Paul.  Paul quickly pulled out a long sharp knife and told Harry to hold down the alpha. 

 

Without wasting another second, Paul reached down with the knife and sliced through the base of cock that was locked in Zayn’s mouth.  The alpha began screaming in pain and trying to fight off Harry who quickly shoved the rest of his body off the bed and onto the floor. 

 

Paul ignored the screams of the alpha that had just been castrated.  He reached down to Zayn, whose top half had collapsed into a lifeless heap on the bed.  Paul carefully and quickly worked his fingers into Zayn’s mouth alongside the now detached member.  He began moving the knot, squeezing it and adjusting it until it had shrunk enough to pull it out of Zayn’s mouth. 

 

“Louis, I have to get the other one out of him.  Work on draining the cum out of his mouth quickly,” Paul yelled as he moved towards the other alpha. 

 

Dillon had watched in horror as his brother’s cock had been easily chopped off right in front of him.  He struggled more against the hold that Liam and Niall had on him.  When he saw Paul coming towards him with the knife he doubled his attempts to escape, but his knot stuck in the lifeless omega prevented him from moving too much. 

 

With one quick swipe, Paul had cut off the second twin’s penis and shoved him to the ground.  The knot stuck in Zayn’s arse had started to shrink once the new alphas had come in and after a little work Paul was able to extract it from the broken omega.  He looked to Liam and said “We need to stop the bleeding, get a towel, a shirt, anything and hold it to his bum.  Apply enough pressure, or he will bleed to death.”

 

Liam quickly ran into the bathroom and emerged with a towel, stepping over the two alpha twins who now lay on the floor next to each other unconscious due to blood loss.  Liam positioned the towel to Zayn and held it there firmly. 

 

Meanwhile Louis was turning Zayn’s head and scooping out cum with his fingers.  He had attached his lips to Zayn’s and began sucking, in an attempt to pull out more cum that could be stuck in the back of his throat, spitting onto the floor what he had managed to extract from the unconscious omega.  When he got out all that he could, Zayn was still lifeless. 

 

“Paul!!  Help!! He isn’t breathing!!  What do we do!?”  Louis yelled panicking. 

 

In the distance the alphas could hear sirens, indicating that the police and ambulance were almost there.  Without a word, Niall and Liam ran out of the shed to go meet the first responders and get them to Zayn as fast as they could. 

 

Paul began CPR quickly on Zayn, attempting to give him two rescue breaths.  Though he air that Paul was pushing into his lungs barley made Zayn’s chest rise at all.  His airway was still blocked. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading and commenting. I really enjoy all of your comments. 
> 
> The boys came to save Zayn... but are they too late?
> 
> Will be updating again soon. I know I leave you on cliffhangers all the time, I won't keep you waiting too long I promise!!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow another chapter already!! I an addicted to writing this story, I can't get it out of my head!! I hope you enjoy.

Liam and Niall made it to the front of the house just as the police cruiser came into view down the street.  They both began frantically jumping up and down waving their arms above their head yelling “Hurry, hurry, please… please hurry!!” 

 

The police car pulled to a stop and both boys ran up to the officers who were getting out of the vehicle.  Both began talking hysterically over each other to the officers to explain what happened and to ask where the ambulance was.  One of the officers held up his hands and said calmly “Whoa boys calm down.  One at a time, what happened here?  Whose blood is on your clothes?  Are either of you hurt?” 

 

Liam began talking.  “Please come quick!  We need an ambulance!  Our friend he is hurt really bad.  I don’t think he is breathing!” 

 

One of the officers asked where this friend was and Niall and Liam immediately turned to lead the way to the shed.  One of the officers was carrying a bag that looked to be some sort of extensive first aid kit.  Liam chose to go around the house rather than through it so the officers didn’t try to stop to examine the bodies of Zayn’s parents in the foyer.  Zayn may still be able to be saved, the dead could wait. 

 

While the boys led the officers around the house, Niall was trying to explain the horror they had seen when they walked into the shed.  Niall was so frantic and talking so fast, his Irish accent thicker than normal due to his stress and hysteria that the officers couldn’t understand most of what he was saying and asked Liam to explain. 

 

“We came here looking for our friend, when we got to the shed it was locked and when we looked in the window, we saw our friend being knotted by two huge alphas.  We had always thought that our friend was a beta, we know now that he is an omega.”  Liam paused in his explanation, terrified to voice the next part.  “He wasn’t in heat.” 

 

Both officers gasped in shock.  The officers were also alphas.  Nature had imbedded most alphas with a need to protect and cherish omegas.  No fit alpha would cause any harm to an omega on purpose.  It was unthinkable.  An alpha was required to be extremely carful with their knot.  An alpha can only knot an omega; and then only if the omega is in heat.  To do so to another alpha, beta, or an omega that is not in heat can cause severe damage to the one receiving it.  The damage can sometimes be permanent or result in death.  The punishment for an alpha for doing such a thing is death.  Knowing how crucial the situation was now, the officers quicken their pace behind the boys and one of the officers quickly called for an ambulance. 

 

“When you say that they both knotted the omega, did you see them both do it?” the officer who was not on his radio asked. 

 

“Yes, they did it at the same time just a few moments before we were able to get through the door.  One was knotted in his arse; the other in his mouth,” Liam explained.  “Our friends tried their best to clear his airways of cum.  He wasn’t breathing.” 

 

By this time Niall and Liam had led the officers to the shed, the four burst through and the officers took in the terrible sight in front of them.  There were two alphas on the floor, both covered in bright red shiny blood; their cocks had been severed and were both lying on the floor where they had been tossed carelessly.  The omega was now lying on the floor, having been moved there by Paul so that he could continue his attempts at CPR.  Harry was now holding a towel between the omegas legs carefully.  The towel was stained with blood.  Louis was doing chest compressions on Zayn while Paul was attempting to get air in his lungs between sets.  While Louis was preforming compressions, Paul was still trying to dig cum out the omega’s mouth and throat. 

 

The officers stood in shock for no more than a moment, and then rushed forward to assist Paul and Louis.  One of the officers opened the bag that he had been carrying and pulled out an object that looked like a fancy turkey baster with a flexible tip.  The officer settled down on his knees above Zayn’s head and tilted it backwards to open his throat up as much as possible.  The officer then quickly but gently began inserting the objects tip into the omega’s mouth and down his throat.  When the object was in, he slowly began squeezing the bulb at the top.  The boys and Paul watched as when the bulb slowly began inflating again, it was also filling with a thick white liquid.  When the bulb was completely inflated, the officer extracted the object from the omega and the other officer quickly placed a face mask over his mouth, securing the seal and squeezed the air bag.  Both officers intently kept their eyes on Zayn’s chest for signs of the air causing his lungs to inflate. 

 

Zayn’s chest rose a little more than it had been with Paul’s ministrations, but still not enough.  The officers began repeating the process again, inserting the object and extracting more cum from the omegas throat and lungs.  The next time the face mask was sealed on Zayn’s face, his chest rose normally, enough of cum had been removed allowing the officers to begin manually breathing for Zayn.  The officers picked back up with CPR as four paramedics rushed through the door. 

 

The paramedics rushed forward toward the officers and Zayn.  One stopped and looked at the alphas, clearly debating assisting them since they were both were bleeding profusely, were very pale, and breathing shallowly.  One of the officers caught his attention and said “No.  The omega first.”  With that all four paramedics began administering treatment to Zayn. 

 

The boys and Paul could only watch as the paramedics desperately tried to save their mates life.  They could hear words being said but were too upset to be able to comprehend what they meant.  Within a few moments Zayn had been picked up and his limp body placed on a board.  The mask was still being used to pump air into his lungs and more towels were being used to try to staunch the bleeding from Zayn’s damaged bum.  Zayn was quickly moved out of the shed towards the ambulance that was parked in the front yard. 

 

More paramedics arrived and began working on the twin alphas.  Outside there was a small army of police officers.  The main house was being searched and the bodies of Yaser and Tricia were found. 

 

The boys followed quickly and Paul grabbed the attention of one of the officers.  Paul quickly explained to the officer who the boys were and informed the officer that he and the boys would be more than willing to answer any questions that the officers had but that it would be done at the hospital as there was no way in hell that any of them would not be following Zayn.  Paul also explained the need to attempt to hide the situation from the media, and that a plan needed to be in place to keep everyone safe should the details of the incident be leaked.  Due to the boys’ status, the officer was quick to comply and began making all appropriate contacts. 

 

The boys watched as Zayn was loaded into an ambulance.  As soon as the back doors shut and the vehicle took off racing down the street towards the hospital, Louis collapsed to his hands and knees on the ground, wailing at the top of his lungs.  Tears poured from his yes, soaking his collar as they ran down his face and neck.  Niall sobbed and turned to Harry, burying his face in the younger alphas neck as tears began flowing from his eyes.  Harry wrapped his arms around Niall and held him tightly to his chest.  Liam crouched behind Louis and put his arms around his chest, pulling him up to hold Louis back against Liam’s chest.  Liam was still in shock, the vision of Zayn’s broken and lifeless body engraved in his mind. 

 

Paul quickly gathered the boys and got them in the van, a police escort was there to escort them quickly to the hospital.  The only sounds in the van during the drive were whimpers and sobs.  No one could come up with anything to say.  There really wasn’t anything to say at all.  They were all thinking the same thing…

 

How could this happen? 

 

Zayn was an omega.  Not a beta, but an omega!

 

How long had this been going on?  They all prayed silently that this was the first time, but none of them really thought that it was the truth.  They were starting to put the pieces together one by one. 

 

Zayn had to have been on suppressants.  Suppressants were bad news.  How was he able to keep this from them for all these years?

 

How did they not see this?

 

What was happening to Zayn right now?  Please let him still be alive.  Each of the boys prayed silently for Zayn to be okay.  They would do anything. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

When they reached the hospital, the boys rushed in to the desk and demanded to know where Zayn was.  Paul immediately searched out security at the hospital to come up with an action plan should fans or media find out where they were, which he knew would happen sooner or later.  There is no way something like this could be kept a secret for long. 

 

The nurse at the desk quickly typed Zayn’s name into her computer, looking up where he had been taken.  “Mr. Malik was taken into emergency surgery.  If you would like to come with me, I will take you to a private waiting room.  When he is out of surgery the doctor will come to see you.”  The boys thanked the nurse, and followed her to a waiting room on the fifth floor of the hospital. 

 

Louis and Niall each sat down on one of the padded chairs in the room, Niall leaning back with his head against the wall staring at the ceiling; Louis with his elbows resting on his knees and his face buried in his hands.  Harry slowly stalked to the window to look out, leaning his forehead against the cool glass.  Liam paced back and forth across the room, alternating between ringing his hands and running his fingers over his face and through his hair.  No one said anything, each lost in their own thoughts. 

 

Paul joined them in the waiting room after some time and explained that some police officers would be there momentarily to begin questioning them on the events of the day.  The section of the hospital that they were in had been closed off to everyone else, making room for the police to conduct their interrogations without the boys having to be taken away from any potential news on Zayn’s condition. 

 

Paul informed them that he had contacted management and had filled them in on the situation.  Management was not happy, but they were currently working on postponing the tour indefinitely.  They would be spinning a story that one of the boys was very ill and was unable to travel.  The boys didn’t care what story the media was fed.  They didn’t care about the tour being delayed, possibly canceled.  It was a no brainer, they would not be going without Zayn.  It went without saying and without any kind of discussion. 

 

Eventually there was a knock on the door of the waiting room.  Paul got up to answer it and was met by four police officers.  The officers split into pairs and chose two of the alphas to give their statements.  First up was Paul and Liam.  Each was taken by two officers into a private room on the same floor.  Each recounted every detail that they could remember from the time that Zayn had left for Bradford.  Liam made mention of how Zayn would always come back to the band sickly and worn, his voice defeated as he stated “It makes me think that this has been going on for a long time, and I never had a fucking clue.”

 

When Paul and Liam were done it was Harry and Niall’s turn; leaving Louis for last.  The boys were distraught while giving their statements.  They could not believe what they had seen and were terrified of what would happen to their best mate. 

 

About three hours later, all the alphas were gathered again in the waiting room, another officer came in with an update.  There had still been no news on Zayn’s condition.  “I thought you would like to know that both of the two alphas died from their injuries.  There will be no charges filed; there is more than enough evidence to support your statements.  The alphas would have been found guilty and sentenced to death anyway.”  The alphas all nodded in acknowledgement.  They were glad that the people who had hurt Zayn were dead, but until they found out that he would not follow, there was no room for celebration. 

 

Before the officer left, he turned again and stated “Also, we ran their DNA through our system.  They were wanted on 16 other counts of omega murder.”  That got the attention of the room. 

 

“What?!” Harry said shock evident in his voice. 

 

The officer cleared his throat.  “The alphas were wanted for 16 other murders.  They would take an omega, before this, always female, and would rape them and knot them… literally until they died.  The murders took place all around the country over the past 2 years.  We never found their names, but we had DNA on all the victims.”  With that the officer left the room. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It was another four hours later before the doctor came to the waiting room.  The boys had been nervously fidgeting and moving around the room periodically.  Each of them lost in their own thoughts.  They had finally resorted to cuddling on the small couch sitting along one wall.  The couch was really only made to fit two people, but the boys crowded into it, needing to feel the others around them.  Niall and Louis, being the smallest of the alphas were curled up in the laps of Liam and Harry respectively.  When the doctor came in, they all rushed to stand up and approach him, but didn’t say anything.  They couldn’t. 

 

The doctor introduced himself as Dr. Goldberg.  Dr. Goldberg started out by easing their minds, saying “Mr. Malik is out of surgery and has been moved to a private room down the hall from here.”

 

Louis could not stop himself from interrupting, “When can we see him?  Can we see him now?” he asked eagerly.  Harry elbowed him in the side sharply and shushed him. 

 

“You can in a little bit.  But first I want to discuss his condition.  Zayn is in stable yet critical condition.  He is in a coma.  He suffered severe damage to his rectum during the assault.  He needed 92 stitches in the inside and outside of his bum alone.  About 90% of his body is covered in bruises.  There was some internal damage done from the blows that he received.  We were able to stop him from bleeding internally, but he will be bruised for a long long while.  He had seven cracked ribs and heavy chaffing on his penis. 

 

“Zayn is severely dehydrated and malnourished.  He is approximately 30 pounds underweight.  He has probably been underweight for a long time, but the recent toll that his body has taken has drained him even more.  He is suffering from a severe lack of aftercare.  From what his body is telling us, it is possible that he had never received aftercare.  Ever.”

 

Those words hit the boys like a sledgehammer.  Aftercare was essential to an omegas health and happiness.  Their heart broke when it began to dawn on them what their friend and bandmate had been dealing with alone. 

 

“We did a drug screen on Zayn as well.  Zayn had been on suppressants for a long time,” Dr. Goldberg said sadly.  The boys had figured that was the case, otherwise he never would have been able to fool them into thinking he was a beta. 

 

“We also found traces of a heat inducing drug that was recently found in the black market.  This drug was never released to the public; it was stopped after one round of human testing.  I have been following the case; the police are still trying to find out how it got from the lab and into the hands of thugs.  We hardly ever get to examine omegas who take this drug.  Most of them come to us after they are dead, after they have been used up,” the doctor informed them.  “I cannot say for certain, but the drug is mostly used for omegas in underground omega sex rings.” 

 

The statement brought another wave of tears and despair from the boys. 

 

“It is unclear how much mental and psychological damage was done to Zayn at this time.  We won’t be able to make a clearer determination until Zayn wakes up,” the doctor continued.  “You may go see him now, but make sure that you stay quiet in the room.”  With that the doctor provided the room number that the omega was assigned and walked out the door. 

 

The boys looked at each other one last time, knowing that it was time; they had to go face the broken body that was once their happy, sweet and caring mate.  Harry broke the silence…

 

“How could we be so blind?”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter coming soon!! Keep checking back!!
> 
> What are your thoughts? Feel free to leave comments, I love reading them and try to respond to all of them! 
> 
> Thank you for reading!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slightly longer update than the last few for you guys. I hope you enjoy it. I am off to work now!! Thanks for reading!

It has been a week since Zayn was found and taken to the hospital.  He still has not woken up.  He was hooked up to so many machines; he had tubes going into his arm, nose and mouth.  He had bandages wrapped around his broken ribs holding them in place.  If possible, his bruises were even worse than before.  Now that he had been cleaned and bathed they were more visible.  He had cuts and scratches, and his body was swollen.  His skin was a patchwork of colorful bruises ranging from black, to red, to blue to yellow and green. 

 

When the boys were first allowed to see him, they entered the room and could not prevent the gasps that that they let out.  Zayn was broken.  They had never seen anyone look so frail and weak.  He looked tiny and fragile laid out on his back in the hospital bed.  He was still covered in blood, sweat and cum at that time, seeing as he had been taken immediately to surgery and they were let in to see him soon after he got out.  The nurses had been preparing to give him a sponge bath to clean him up when the boys arrived. 

 

“We will do that,” Harry told one of the nurses, taking the warm water and flannels out of her hands.  The nurse looked uncertain at first, but after looking at all the boys, knew better than to attempt to argue.  Instead she went and got a couple more pans of warm water, soap and flannels and brought it back to the room.  The boys waited until she left the room and closed the door before they turned back to the omega. 

 

Liam led the way to Zayn and set his pan of water down on the table.  He reached out slowly and gently and removed the covers from Zayn’s body.  He moved him slightly, to untie the gown that was put on him, removing it as well and placing it aside.  Zayn’s body was now laid bare in front of them.  They all looked in silence as they took in the damage.  Zayn’s ribs, hips and collar bones were grossly visible under his taunt skin.  He had always been thin, but looking at him now, the boys could not help but think that he was more skeleton then boy.  Silently and without really realizing it they had all begun to cry for their mate. 

 

After taking in all of his wounds on the front of his body, the boys stepped up to him to begin the process of bathing him.  Liam stayed by his head on the left side of his body, Louis was opposite of him.  Harry was next to Louis, by Zayn’s right leg, with Niall by his left leg, next to Liam.  They all soaked their flannels in the warm water before ringing them out and set to work on gently rubbing the filth from the omega’s damaged body. 

 

Louis started at Zayn’s hand, gently cleaning each finger, being sure to get around his nails and nooks between his fingers.  He slowly worked his way up Zayn’s arm until he was at his shoulder. 

 

Liam had started at Zayn’s neck, gently rubbing and reveling more of a hand shaped bruise that wrapped itself around his throat.  He ground his teeth in anger when he eyed the bite mark on juncture between the omega’s neck and shoulder.  He quietly pointed out the damage to his fellow alphas, all of them stewing in anger.  The bite had not been healed by the alpha when it was caused.  It would take months for it to heal completely on its own.  Liam then moved to Zayn’s shoulder and down his arm to his hand, being equally gentle.  Liam was very careful when he reached the IV that was taped into his arm just below the elbow, gently cleaning around it, but being sure not to move or jar it with his ministrations. 

 

Harry and Niall both started at Zayn’s bare feet, getting every crevice.  Both worked slowly and carefully, neither anxious to get to his private areas that had been so abused by the dead alpha twins. 

 

The boys worked in silence.  The only sounds in the room were the beeping of the various monitors hooked up to Zayn and the splashing of the water as they rinsed and rewet their flannels.  It didn’t take very long before the water they had was filthy and getting chilled.  They each took their turns getting fresh warm water before they continued. 

 

Liam and Louis began gently cleaning Zayn’s chest and stomach, being careful to not get his bandages damp.  His stomach was caked in dried cum; it was starting to come off in thick flakes.  It seemed to take forever to rub it off enough to where his bare skin was visible.  The bruises there, became darker as the foreign substance was removed and no longer masking the true amount of damage. 

 

Zayn’s lower belly was no longer protruding grotesquely from the amount of cum that had been pumped into him.  When the doctors had stitched up his insides, they had cleaned him out.  The boys were glad; they had not been sure how they could do that without damaging the stitching inside his body.

 

Niall and Harry looked at each other; they had both made it to the tops of Zayn’s thighs.  Niall looked as if he was going to be sick.  “I don’t know if I can do this,” he whispered softly. 

 

Louis glanced up at Niall and saw the distraught look on his face.  Taking pity on the blonde alpha, Louis said “Here, trade me spots.”  Niall gratefully switched positions with the older alpha, quickly hugging him as he went by. 

 

Louis and Harry both put down their used flannels and grabbed fresh ones.  Harry and Liam both went to get fresh water.  When they were back Louis and Harry set to work positioning Zayn’s limp body so that they could clean him gently.  Each alpha gently wrapped their hands around one of Zayn’s thin legs, bending him at his knees and spreading him out so that they could get better access. 

 

His hole was swollen and raw.  It had been torn severely during his attack, and was now sporting several stitches on the outside.  There were more stiches inside that were not visible.  His balls were swollen, the skin around them thicker than it should be, bruised from where they had been gripped and pulled too tightly, overused and sensitive from the countless times that he was made to cum against his will by the alpha twins.  His penis was chaffed and raw, also bruised, the outline of a large handprint could be seen on it.  There were dozens small bruises covering his hips and thighs.  Finger marks from where he had been grabbed roughly. 

 

Very slowly and gently Louis reached out and cradled Zayn’s limp and damaged penis in his hand.  He brought the flannel up to it and gently began sponging it off, working from the tip down to the base.  Louis made sure to get everything out from the folds of skin.  He worked very slowly so as to not cause more damage or to make the unconscious boy uncomfortable.  When he was done, he removed the flannel and his hands after laying Zayn’s penis flat against his lower stomach.  Louis looked to Harry, silently communicating that he needed a break. 

 

It was very hard.  By nature alphas are programmed to care for omegas, especially during their heats.  It is a common practice for alphas to clean their omegas while they sleep after being momentarily stated during those times.  This however was different.  Louis was not cleaning and caring for an omega after he had been fucked into oblivion happily.  This was not the gentle aftercare of making sure an omega has everything they need to be healthy and hydrated for the next round.  This was caring for a broken omega who had been abused and assaulted almost to the point of death.  This was caring for a mate who was hurt by others.  This was omega aftercare that was required because he had failed to protect the omega in his care.  An omega who he had believed was a beta. 

 

Anger washed through Louis; anger at Zayn, but mostly he was angry at himself.  How could he have missed the signs that looking back were oh so obvious.  Louis felt his blood heating up as his anger rose. 

 

No, he thought to himself.  I can’t do this now.  There is time for anger but not now, right now Zayn needs care.  With that thought, Louis pushed down his rage to focus again on the omega on the bed in front of him. 

 

Harry watched the thoughts and feelings being displayed on Louis face, being able to read them easily.  Louis has always been an open book, never really good at truly hiding what he was really feeling.  When Harry saw that Louis was back in control of his emotions and back to focusing on Zayn, he dipped his fresh flannel in the warm water, rung it out, and set to work cleaning the omega’s brutalized balls.  Harry held them in his large hands, and gently maneuvered the tender skin, cleaning and he moved from the back to the front.  Once all of the filth was removed, he looked back to Louis, who nodded at him. 

 

Harry used his large hands to very gently, pulled Zayn’s cheeks apart just a little bit and held him like that, slightly lifting his hips off the hospital bed in the processes.  Louis began cleaning the crease between his cheeks first, before moving to the skin surrounding Zayn’s hole.  Very slowly, being mindful of the stitches, Louis cleaned the area around his hole and the creases where his legs met his body.  The process took forever but finally, Zayn’s lower body cleaned.  Harry and Louis then repositioned Zayn’s legs, stretched out on the bed, in a more comfortable position for him. 

 

Harry then gently placed his large hand lightly on Zayn’s tummy over his belly button.  Harry was amazed at how large his had looked on Zayn’s body.  He knew he had large hands of course, but just looking at where the tip of his thumb brushed just mere centimeters from the base of the omegas cock, to the tip of his little finger that overlapped the lowest of Zayn’s ribs.  His fingertips lay gently on Zayn’s side.  It took his breath away at how fragile the newly discovered omega was.  His stomach was so caved in from lack of food, Harry thought that if he used just a little bit of pressure he would be able to feel the inside of Zayn’s spine.  Of course he would never do that, the thought that it could be possible made his stomach queasy.

 

While Harry and Louis were cleaning Zayn’s private regions, Liam and Niall set to work cleaning Zayn’s hair and face.  Niall, who felt much more comfortable with his new task, quickly grabbed a new flannel and wet it in the warm water.  He started out gently wiping from Zayn’s temple down the side of his face.  It was hard because most of his face was covered in bruises and shallow cuts, but he made sure to treat the tender skin with care.  

 

Niall took his time gently massaging the grime off Zayn’s once so beautiful face.  He worked his way around the tubes that were inserted into his mouth and nose, being careful not to disturb or bump them.  He cleaned down his throat, and behind and in his ears.  Lastly, he very gently cleaned Zayn’s closed eye lids.  He made sure that the cloth was still quite soggy when he brought it up and placed it over Zayn’s eyes.  He wanted to give the warm water time to soak and loosen up the cum and blood that had run into his eye lashes. 

 

When the area was properly soaked, Niall set to work using the cloth and his fingers to gently loosen the filth.  There was so much there that Niall doubted that Zayn would be able to open his eyes on his own even if he was awake.  He was so gentle, and he took so much time, he did not want to accidently pull out even one of Zayn’s beautiful, long, dark eyelashes.  After a long time, he was done and he felt proud that he had been able to clean his mate, meeting his goal of not pulling out even one hair. 

 

After he was done, Niall just stood there and looked at Zayn.  He came to the realization that even battered and broken like he was, Zayn was one of the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen.  He was unsure of how he had not noticed it before.  Yes, he had always thought that Zayn was attractive, but somehow now it was more prominent.  It wasn’t _because_ Zayn was so battered that he noticed; it was more like because he was still so attractive with the bruises and swelling, and tubes.  Most people if had been through what Zayn had been through, you would never be able to say that they were beautiful.  Now Niall couldn’t think of anything that would make Zayn not beautiful in his eyes. 

 

The boys then worked together to gently roll Zayn onto this side so that Liam could quickly and carefully wash off his back.  His back had more scratches and bruises.  These were deeper than the ones on the rest of his body, but still not enough to need stitches.  When he was done, they rolled him back over on his back. 

 

Liam had taken on the task of cleaning the wreck that was Zayn’s hair.  He had gently picked Zayn’s head up and removed the pillow from underneath it, replacing it with a shallow bowl with a small funnel at one end.  He made sure that the funnel end was over an empty pan and then began using a cup to pour warm water carefully over Zayn’s hair, using one hand on his forehead to prevent the water from running in his eyes.  Once Zayn’s hair was wet, Liam used both hands to gently massage his fingers into his scalp, felling the clumps start to loosen under his fingertips. 

 

Once Liam had loosened the clumps of filth enough so that his hair was no longer a plastered mess, he emptied the pan in the loo and refilled his other pan with warm water.  Liam again used a cup to re-wet and rinse out everything that had come loose already.  When that was done Liam reached for the shampoo.  He poured a generous amount into his hands and rubbed them together, creating a soft lather before bringing his fingers back to Zayn’s scalp.  He was very careful to make sure that each strand of the raven colored hair was cleaned.  He took special care around Zayn’s ears and the back of his head, running his fingertips in small soothing circles.  

 

When he was done, he rinsed off his hands and again used the cup to pour fresh warm water over his hair, removing the bubbled lather.  After emptying the dirty water and refilling his pan again, Liam repeated the process another time, until the lather stayed white and the dirty water no longer held a brown murky color, indicating that the hair was clean. 

 

Liam then carefully removed the pan from under Zayn’s head and replaced it with a towel.  Using both hands he carefully used the sides of the towel to try Zayn’s hair until it was mostly dry and only slightly damp.  He did not want to risk Zayn catching a cold on top of everything else.  Liam placed the pillow back under Zayn’s head and set him down with great care, jostling him as little as possible. 

 

With that done, the boys quickly worked together to put a new hospital gown on him, tying the back lightly and fastening the sleeves together correctly.  It took a little bit to get it buttoned; the things should really come with instructions.  Harry and Louis each took a sock and set to work on getting his feet covered to keep Zayn warm. 

 

Niall had removed the blankets and sheets that had been covering Zayn and put them in the laundry bag in the loo.  He did not want to have Zayn’s skin come into contact with anything else that had come from the alpha twins.  Those were dirty since they had been placed on Zayn when he was covered in the alpha’s spunk.  Niall then set to work on finding new sheets and blankets.  The boys were able to quickly change the sheet underneath Zayn and replace it with a clean one, tucking his gown back under him in the process.  Zayn was then covered in blankets that had just come out of the warmer and were nice and toasty.  They figured that his body had probably gotten cold after being naked and the warm water cooling on his skin. 

 

When Zayn was tucked in safely, Liam went out to request that four cots be brought into the room for the boys.  They were tired but there was no way in hell that they were leaving their omega by himself.  They would surround him in the room and make sure that he was safe.  Within the hour, there were four cots, along with extra pillows and blankets in the room and the boys were settling down to rest. 

 

The boys decided that they would take turns keeping watch.  None of them wanted Zayn to wake up without someone being there watching him.  They knew that he would need immediate comfort and did not want to delay that in any way. 

 

Liam took the first watch.  Upon his request, the nurse had also wheeled in a blanket warmer for the boys to use as much as they needed.  Liam would check Zayn’s blankets every few minutes to see if it was still warm.  When he found that it was cool, he would exchange the cool one with a warm one.  He was careful to keep checking Zayn’s temperature to make sure that he was not overheating. 

 

Liam kept a steady eye on the tubes going into Zayn.  The one in his harm was connected to two bags; a large one filled with fluids to rehydrate his body, the second was filled with a strong pain medicine.  The tube going onto his nose was for feeding, putting nutrients straight into his stomach to help make him stronger.  A breathing tube was put into his mouth to assist him in breathing. 

 

Liam was overcome while watching Zayn lie there lifeless.  If it wasn’t for the steady beeping of his heart monitor, Liam would wonder if Zayn was dead.  He placed his head in his hands and began weeping.  He thought that he was being quiet, but Louis heard him and quietly got up so as to not disturb Harry and Niall.  Louis walked over to Liam and wrapped his small arms around the larger lad, hugging him tightly. 

 

“Go get some rest Liam.  I’ll take over,” Louis said gently but firmly, leaving no room for argument from Liam who obediently crawled into his cot and fell asleep.  Louis kept watch over the sleeping boys for a few hours, and then woke up Niall for his shift.  Niall was replaced by Harry a couple of hours until sunrise. 

 

This is how it went for a week.  The boys would only leave Zayn’s room to get food, and then at least one of them would stay behind with Zayn.  The doctors and nurses would come in and out of the room periodically to check on him and to change out the bags of fluids and medicines.  Still Zayn slept. 

 

After a week, the boys talked to Paul.  It was time to take Zayn back to London.  There was a specialist in omega care there that they wanted for Zayn.  So far Zayn had not made any further progress, though he was not getting worse.  His wounds were healing slower than they should have.  They wanted to get him home.  Paul made the arraignments and by the end of the eighth day, Zayn had been moved to a private room in a private hospital under the care of Dr Emily Grey. 

 

Paul had contacted security to clear out the boys belongings from the hotel that they had been staying at while they were in rehearsals.  All of the belongings were to be brought to the private hospital, as that is where the boys were staying at.  They were all in a large room that could accommodate the five of them comfortably.  Zayn was still connected to all of the tubes and machines that he had been before.  Dr Grey had been ordering a multitude of tests on Zayn to gage his progress, but had yet to come back to them with any new information as it was still being analyzed. 

 

The boys went through their stuff and began putting it away in anticipation for being at the hospital for quite some time.  As Harry was pulling out his clothes, he knocked over one of Zayn’s bags that had been leaning against his.  A book tumbled out of the bag and Harry looked at it before picking it up. 

 

“Hey guys, look,” he said.  “It’s Zayn’s journal.”  All the boys looked at the well-worn book and then looked at each other with questioning eyes. 

 

“Should we…?” Niall began, unable to finish the sentence.  Reading Zayn’s private journal had to be crossing some sort of line… didn’t it? 

 

“No,” Liam said firmly, but his eyes stayed on the book, like he really didn’t mean what his mouth had said. 

 

Louis had a different idea though.  “Yes we should.”  When the other boys looked at him with varying levels of shock he continued.  “He is not healing as fast as he should be.  Omegas have to be able to heal fast due to their heats.  Something else is wrong.  Maybe the journal can shed some light on what it is.”  In a quieter voice he continued “Also maybe it will explain why he kept this from us.” 

 

That statement easily changed the mood in the room.  With a quick glance back at Zayn lying unconscious in the hospital bed, still weak and frail, and fragile as blown glass, the other boys gathered around the small couch in the room after closing the door securely to the room so that they would not be overheard.  Content that they could still keep an eye on Zayn and the machines monitoring his health, the boys looked at each other one last time before opening the journal to the first page. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a bit slower in action, but I think that it is really important to show the level of care and love that the boys obviously have for Zayn. 
> 
> I know before I said that there would be no more graphic descriptions, but the next chapter will have some as the boys read what Zayn has written in his journal. None of the graphic content will be happing to Zayn again, it will just be him writing about what had happened. I will try to keep the graphic level to a minimum, because I don't really enjoy it, but it is important to know exactly what all has happened to Zayn. His past will shape how he reacts to the alphas when he wakes up. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed. Please leave comments!! Thank you again for reading!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the long wait. As some of you know from reading comments, I have been very sick lately and spent almost a week in the hospital. I missed my concert in Chicago because I was in the hospital. I was so upset. Luckily I have some awesome friends who brought me a bunch of One Direction stuff while I was in the hospital to make me feel better!!
> 
> That being said, this is a work of fiction, so some of the timeline of events may be out of order. I know this, just take it at face value and enjoy!

The boys began reading the journal; taking turns one after the other reading out loud until they could not continue. 

 

The beginning of Zayn’s journal painted the story of a carefree and happy boy who was adored by his parents.  Being an only child, Zayn’s parents doted on him and spoiled him.  Zayn was shy around new people, but once he got to know someone he would really open up.  He wasn’t popular in school but he wasn’t un-popular either and hadn’t many friends, but the ones that he had were very special to him.  Zayn was good in school, not top of the class, but well above average.  Zayn wrote about his love of reading and writing, superheroes and comics.  Zayn loved animals and spent a couple hours a week at the local animal shelter in Bradford playing with the dogs and cats.  The journal showed Zayn as a very open boy who loved life and everything in it. 

 

“I remember him like this,” Liam said quietly.  “Back when we first met him and all though X-Factor.  He was so open and happy.”  The alphas nodded in agreement, each remembering the Zayn that they first met. 

 

“It was like he was free then,” Harry whispered turning to glance at the broken boy in the hospital bed.  Harry sighed then turned his attention back to the journal and picked up where he had left off. 

 

Zayn wrote about his decision to audition for X-Factor.  He was so nervous; it took him days to finally decide what song he was going to sing.  Zayn admitted in the journal that he didn’t think that he would get through, but he wasn’t going to let the fear of failure stop him from doing this, he really loved to sing and wanted to see how far he could go. 

 

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

 

_I did it!!  I made it!!  I got through to bootcamp!!  :o)  I am so happy right now!!  This is great!!  I didn’t think that I would get through but I did!!”_

_I had to get up at 4:00 AM to make it to the audition.  I was really nervous; I couldn’t get to sleep last night.  I started feeling really anxious and at about 2:00 AM I decided that I didn’t want to go; that it wouldn’t be worth it and that I would embarrass myself.  Mum came in to get up and literally had to drag me out of bed and throw my clothes at me.  I told her that I didn’t want to go and she told me that I did and that I was letting the fear get to me.  She told me that she knew what was best for me and she was right._

_I was so nervous walking out on that stage, it was so huge, and Simon was right there!!  I couldn’t believe it when I heard that I had gotten though.  I managed to keep my cool though until I got off the stage and then I ran to Mum jumping up and down.  She hugged me and told me how proud she was of me.  We went out for ice cream on our way home to celebrate.  I am so happy right now!!_

 

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

 

“It’s a shame they didn’t show his audition originally on the show when it aired,” Niall stated matter-of-factly.  “He was so good.”

 

“Ya he was, he was amazing,” Liam agreed.  Louis just nodded, and appeared to be lost in his own thoughts.  Niall picked up the story from where he had interrupted Harry. 

 

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

_Bootcamp is really intimidating.  There are so many super talented people here.  I don’t know how I’ll make it though, especially since we have to dance.  DANCE of all things!!  I can’t dance at all, especially in front of all these people.  My roommate is kind of a snob; I don’t really like him much.  I have seen some really attractive people here too…There is this one kid, he is blonde with really pretty blue eyes, he plays guitar and is really loud, always laughing and smiling.  He has a thick Irish accent, sometimes it is hard to understand what he is saying.  I think his name is Niall.  There is another kid with curly brown hair that he keeps tucked away in a beanie, I heard him introduce himself to someone as Harry.  He has amazingly green eyes and a really pretty smile (with dimples!)  He seems really friendly too.  There is a short kid with feathery brown hair and blue eyes.  He seems quite quiet, but there is a mischievous look in his eyes, it makes me think that there is more to his personality that he is not letting on.  I think I heard someone call him Louis.  Then there is Liam.  I met him at McDonald’s.  He tried out two years ago for X-Factor and got cut at judge’s houses.  I think he is really brave for auditioning again… I don’t think that I could have done it another time after being cut.  He had pretty brown eyes and light brown hair.  He also has a birthmark on his neck next to his adam’s apple.  He seems really nice, if not a little too serious._

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

_We had to sing another song today; I think I did pretty well.  I was really nervous, but not nearly as nervous as I am about tomorrow.  Tomorrow we have to dance.  Onstage.  In front of everyone.  I can just tell this is going to be a disaster.  I can only hope for a miracle._

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

_I give up.  I can’t do this.  I don’t get the dance moves.  I am horrible.  This is so dumb.  All I want to do is sing.  You don’t have to know how to dance to be able to sing.  We are supposed to dance as a group in front of the judges later today.  I’m not doing it.  I am just going to embarrass myself.  I refuse._

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

_Well I danced.  I didn’t want to; when they called the boys group up to the stage I hid backstage.  I didn’t figure that anyone would notice that I was missing.  I was wrong.  Simon himself came backstage to talk to me.  He convinced me that basically if I quit now I will never be able to do it.  So I went out there, it was bad, but at least I can say now that I did it.  I think I am going to have to keep working on my dancing skills though!  I really hope that this did not hurt my chances of going on to judge’s houses.  I really don’t want to go home yet.  We find out tomorrow._

 

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

 

“I remember that, I was in the row behind him,” Harry stated, smiling at the memory.  “He looked so uncomfortable.” 

 

“I am so glad that Simon gave him that pep talk; can you imagine what would have happened if he would have let Zayn quit?” Louis asked.  All the boys shake their heads, all knowing without saying that none of them would be where they were today. 

 

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

 

               _I got cut. :’o(_

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

_OMG!!  I was just getting ready to leave to go home and they called the boys and girls groups back.  They called out nine names, four girls and five boys, and I was one of them.  They sent us back on stage in two groups and Simon and Nicole said that we were all too talented to let go.  They made us into a boy group and a girl group and said that we had made it to judge’s houses!!  This is so awesome!!  I am so happy!!  The other four boys in the group are the same ones that I mentioned before!!  Liam, Harry, Niall and Louis.  They all seem pretty great!  We are meeting up next week at Harry’s place to get to know each other and to start practicing!!  We have so much work to do!!_

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

_I just got home from Harry’s place.  All the lads are really nice and we get along great.  I was right about Louis; he is a real firecracker!  I think that he and I can get into a lot of trouble together.  We are all really excited about going to Spain; we just have to do well.  I really like these boys; I think that we are all going to be really close.  By the way… we are called One Direction!_

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

_WE MADE IT THROUGH TO THE LIVE SHOWS!!!_

_I have never been more excited!!  We were really worried because the morning that we were supposed to sing in front of Simon, Louis stepped on a sea urchin and had to be taken to the hospital.  He wasn’t there to practice with us for the rest of the day and only just made it back to the house before we had to go on.  I just can’t believe this!!  This is like a dream come true!!  We worked really hard and it is paying off.  The lads are great, we are getting really close.  I am so glad that I was given this opportunity._

_We are going to be going to London soon.  It will be very interesting sharing a room with these four… I can’t wait for the laughs that I know we will have._

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

There is a soft knock on the door and all five alphas look up.  Paul slowly pushes the door open and peaks his head inside, not wanting to disturb the boys if they were sleeping, though he knows that at least one of them is always awake to watch Zayn.  Paul sees the boys on the couch and enters the room, as he walks closer he sees the book that is now held in Louis’ hands and gives them a skeptical look. 

 

“Tell me you’re not…” Paul doesn’t finish his statement because it is clear that they are in fact reading Zayn’s journal. 

 

Louis looks at Paul with a defiant glint in his eyes “Yes we are.  He is our mate and he is hurt and he is not getting better.  This may give us some clues as to what happened to him and how we can help make him better,” he says in an angry whisper.  “You know as well as us that this has probably been going on for a long time.  We were shite friends for not noticing and doing something before.  I’ll be damned if I am going to pass up anything that could make him better.  He kept this from us and I need to know why.  We could have helped him.  Maybe this journal has the answers that we need.”

 

“What he said,” Niall agreed. 

 

Paul does in fact know what Louis means.  He agrees that Zayn was probably abused for a long time.  He can’t disagree with their reasoning, even if he finds it morally wrong and intrusive to read a private journal.  Paul then thinks… it can’t be any more intrusive then having to cut knots out of the poor broken omega.  Paul nods his head indicating that the discussion is over. 

 

“What’s up Paul? Any news?” Liam asks. 

 

Paul sighs, “Look, there is no easy way to say this… but the media got wind of this.”  All the alphas groaned; they really wanted to keep this under wraps for as long as possible.  There is no telling what this will do for their careers, though right now they could care less; Zayn is their top priority, but they still don’t need anything else looming over their heads.

 

“How much do they know?” Liam sighs. 

 

Paul knew what he meant.  “They know that Zayn is an omega.  They know that he was abused and that he is in the hospital.  They don’t know how bad it is, but it got out that there were four deaths associated with his abuse.  They don’t know how long it has been going on, which is no surprise, since we don’t know that either.  All that Modest is releasing to the press is that Zayn is in the hospital recovering and that due to his injuries the tour will be postponed until further notice.  As I’m sure you know Modest would not do that normally.  If Zayn was a beta, you four would be shipped off on tour without him.  Since he is an omega it is different.  They may be pricks, but they know the importance of omegas in society.”

 

“How are the fans taking it?” Harry asked.  All the boys looked at him then at Paul.

 

“Rather well actually.  There has been an outpouring of support for Zayn on social media.  There have been several trending topics wishing him a speedy recovery and expressing their sorrow that someone so rare could be hurt.  There is a little hate, but it is being outshined and shot down by the fans,” Paul said with a hint of pride in his voice. 

 

“We really do have the best fans in the world,” Niall voiced “Not sure why I was worried at all.  Should have known that they would be just as supportive about this as they are everything else.”  The boys smiled to each other then stole another glance to their unconscious omega bandmate, each wondering why he felt the need to hide his status from the world and pretended to be someone that he was not. 

 

“Okay boys, I have some other things I have to attend to, I will leave you to it.  If you find out any answers in that,” Paul said pointing to the journal that was still in Louis’ hands, “or if the doctor comes in, you let me know.”  The boys say they will and Paul gives Zayn’s hand a squeeze then walks out, closing the door firmly behind him. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The alphas turned back to the journal and continued reading.  Zayn wrote about how great it felt to sing in front of a live audience.  He felt so much more comfortable on stage with the other lads there around him.  The boys remembered that Zayn hadn’t had much free time to write since they had been so busy with practicing.  Zayn wrote about when each of the other boys presented as alphas too, since they had all presented while doing the live shows, all except Zayn. 

 

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

 

_Harry presented as alpha today.  So I guess it is official, I will be the only beta in a band with four alphas.  Granted I haven’t presented yet… but my whole family is betas and I know I will be too.  I wish it would just happen already.  It is kind of embarrassing, Liam, Niall and Harry are all younger then I and they all presented before me._

_I’ve never told anyone this but I have started to feel something more for all the lads.  They were attractive before yeah, but now that they have presented as alpha there is just something different.  I think that I LIKE them.  I think that I might be gay._

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

“I didn’t know that he liked boys,” Niall stated dumfounded.  “Really I never knew.  Did any of you?” he asked looking to the others.  All shook their heads.  “I liked him too.  Love him now in fact.”

 

Louis looked at Niall and stated “You are not the only one babe.  I have always felt something for him and for the rest of you too.”

 

Harry and Liam looked at each other and nodded their agreement as well.  They always were close.  Admitting that they were in love with each other and with their broken bandmate was not something that was revolutionary, it was just something that was.  It didn’t matter that four of them were alphas.  They were all secure enough with themselves that it didn’t make a difference to them. 

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

_We lost.  We came in third place.  When we got the news I was so sad, I don’t want this to be the end of One Direction.  I love being around the lads and I didn’t want that to stop.  We got the news this morning from Simon that it won’t stop.  We got signed!!  We can’t tell anyone but our families know, though but that is okay.  We will be going home for the holidays soon, and then in January we will be heading back to London for the X-Factor tour._

_I am going to miss the lads while we are apart, but I know that we will keep in touch.  It is just going to be different having a room all to myself now after all this times being squished like sardines in our room at the X-Factor house._

_I have been thinking a lot about it and I think that I am going to tell my parents that I am gay.  I am worried about it, but I know that they will love me no matter what._

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

_I am back home in Bradford.  It feels weird to be back in my own room.  It is oddly lonely without the other lads.  My room feels empty even though none of the lads have ever been in it before._

_I’m going to tell my parents tomorrow night.  It has been decided.  I am feeling funny tonight, not sure what is wrong.  I just hope that I am not getting sick.  I want to enjoy the holiday and I need to be in tip top shape for the tour after that.  So anyway, wish me luck!!  I am going to bed now to get some rest!!_

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

_I don’t know what happened.  No wait, that’s a lie.  I know exactly what happened.  I never told my parents I was gay.  I didn’t have to.  Turns out I was feeling funny because I was presenting.  I’m not a beta, I’m an omega.  I know nothing about omegas.  I have never associated with them.  I know that there were some omega females on X-Factor, but I spent most of my time with the lads._

_My first heat was horrible.  I have never felt anything like that before in my life.  My whole body was hot and feverish, and I felt like I couldn’t get enough.  I have never wanked so many times in my life.  I even had to finger myself.  It hurt at first, but then it felt really good.  Then all I was thinking was that I need moremoremore!_

_Apparently my parents could smell me.  I heard them shouting downstairs.  I heard glass breaking and the door slammed shut.  I couldn’t even move to try to see what was happening downstairs.  But all that was nothing compared to what happened next._

_I felt like I was losing my mind, I have never felt so much need before, it was overwhelming.  Later on that night my dad came to my room and opened the door.  I was laid out on my bed having another wank and fingering myself, which was embarrassing enough but then another man entered my room.  Before I could try to cover myself up the man pounced on the bed and Dad shut my door, locking it behind him._

_The man was an alpha.  The only words he said to me were “so tight” and “that’s it, scream” as he fucked me and knotted me.  Most of what I remember is just a haze of grunts and overwhelming pleasure.  I know now that it was pretty rough.  Dad kicked him out when my heat had subsided.  I was so tired; I slept for the rest of the day before I could finally get up and make it to the shower.  After I was clean, I looked in the mirror and was shocked at what I saw._

_I am covered in bruises.  They are on my neck, chest, stomach, thighs, and hips.  Some are from where the alpha had sucked on my skin; others are from his hands that had griped my body too hard.  There is a handprint around my neck; I don’t even remember that happening.  There are scratches down my back and chest as well.  I also look to have lost weight, my ribs a little more pronounced than I remember them being.  It hurts when I move._

_I finally went downstairs to get some food.  I was so hungry and thirsty.  I didn’t know how long I had been in my room.  Mum and Dad were waiting for me in the kitchen, both with their backs to me.  Dad heard me and turned around to face me.  I have never seen him look so angry before, and certainly not at me.  Before I could even say anything he marched towards me and slapped me across my face so hard that I saw stars and fell to the floor.  He kicked me then, over and over in my stomach and chest.  The whole time he was yelling, calling me stupid and pathetic and worthless.  He had never hurt me before._

_Finally he stopped and went to sit back down.  I was able to finally able to stand up and Mum came over to me with a hard look in her eyes.  She grabbed a bag that was sitting on the counter and grabbed me by my arm, pulling me back upstairs to my room.  She shoved me in and threw the bag at me and told me that I would not be leaving my room.  She took my phone and my computer and then locked me in here.  The bag had some bread and a couple of bottles of water._

_I have been here ever since.  That was two days ago.  My parents hate me.  I have never felt so alone.  I just want to talk to the lads.  I know that they will accept me.  They are alphas after all, isn’t that their job?_

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

_Dad came to talk to me today.  He told me about omegas and what my place in society was.  He said that omegas are the lowest in society and that it was shameful to be one, especially if you are male.  He also told me that I would be taking suppressants to hide the fact that I am an omega.  He said that I had to pretend to be a beta and that I couldn’t tell anyone ever._

_The alpha that was here a few days ago had paid Dad money to be with me.  Dad said that from now on when I come home I would go off the suppressants and go into heat, he would have alphas ready to “service me” during that time.  He said that is the only way that I can pay him back for the shame of being an omega.  I have tarnished the Malik name.  Dad said that if anyone found out that I was an omega that my career would be over.  No one wants to see omegas, especially male omegas.  He said that if management found out they would sell me too.  He also said that if the lads found out that they would hate me._

_I believe him.  I will never tell.  I love the boys and don’t want them to hate me.  I will never tell._

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The alphas continued to read the journal, it took several hours and they had to stop several times because they could no longer read it through their tears.  The journal showed the downward spiral that was Zayn’s life after this point.  His career along with their own, soared but home life as well as his esteem sunk lower and lower with each passage that he wrote.  When he was with the boys he would write about his love for them and how he was so sad and lonely because he knew that they would never love him back like he loved them.  He wrote of the lies that his father told him about omegas, filling his heart with fear of ever being discovered in his lie.  He wrote of what he could remember of each of his heats and the alphas that “serviced” him. 

 

At the end of the book, they read Zayn’s words on what happened during their three month break.  The alphas could not believe the horror that Zayn told of in his writing.  Some of the words were hard to make out due to the obvious tear stains that littered the page. 

 

“He was writing this while we were watching Toy Story,” Liam stated quietly.  “He was hurting so much, he was being torn apart, in so much pain and agony both physically and emotionally, and we were watching fucking Toy Story.  How could we not see this?”

 

All the boys just looked at each other, more ashamed of themselves now than what they were before.  They all knew that something was off with Zayn when he came back for the X-Factor tour, but they all brushed it off.  Looking back he always acted a little weird for a beta.  He could be caught looking at the boys longingly or enjoying their constant touches too much before he would catch himself and pull away putting on his act again. 

 

“There is nothing that we can do about that now,” Harry stated reasonably.  “All we can do now is make sure that this never happens again.  Now we can take care of him and treat him like he deserves to be treated.  We know now why he didn’t tell us.  We need to work together with Dr. Grey to come up with a plan of action to be able to help him when he wakes up.  We have to be able to get him out of this mindset that omegas are awful and show him how omegas are really treated and revered.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

When Dr. Grey came in the next morning to check on Zayn, the boys showed her the journal and what was written in in.  She was appalled by what Zayn’s dad had done to him and the lies that he ingrained in his son’s mind.  She thanked the boys for the information and said that she would work on coming up with ways to help Zayn move past the psychological trauma that his father had done to him.  Dr. Grey stated that she was still running tests on Zayn and that the results should be in by the next day.  Dr. Gray stated that she would come back then and talk to the boys about Zayn’s condition. 

 

Liam contacted Paul later in the day and told him what they had read in the journal.  Paul was furious.  He took it to heart, he was charged with taking care of these boys and the fact that one of them had been hurting like that the whole time he was in Paul’s care… there just weren’t words to describe what he was feeling.  Paul agreed to be there the next day to hear what Dr. Gray had to say. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

That night, just like what they now considered normal, the boys stayed with Zayn, guarding him, praying that soon he would wake up.  They all vowed to him that they would protect him with their lives, each promise sealed with a gentle kiss to his forehead before they went to sleep. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The next morning soon after Paul arrived, Dr. Gray entered the Zayn’s rooms with a thick file in her hands.  All the boys stood anxiously to greet her before resuming to their chairs surrounding Zayn. 

 

“I have all of the test results that we took on Zayn,” she started. 

 

“Is he going to be okay?” Niall said frantically, voicing all of their concerns. 

 

“Hush Niall, let her talk!” said Liam urgently, turning back to Dr. Gray. 

 

“With time, he will recovery physically,” she stated.  No one missed what Dr. Gray was leaving unspoken. 

 

“What else?” Louis asked carefully. 

 

“I am concerned about how he will be mentally when he wakes up.  From what his journal stated there was a large amount of brainwashing done to him and he seems to have very low self-esteem coupled with severe depression.  His tests show that he has never had the proper aftercare, and his mind has been damaged because of it.  The drug that his father gave him and the suppressants only intensified the damage.”

 

The boys all looked at each other, their faces falling.  Zayn really was broken, both body and mind.

 

“Now the damage does not look to be irreparable.”  At this the four alphas heads shot up, their eyes widening.  “He will need an exceptional amount of aftercare while he heals.  The lack of that for so long is why he is physically not healing as fast as he should be, but he is getting better.  I see how the four of you have been around him.  The care that you are giving him will help him.  You need to keep that up.”

 

“Of course we will!  He is our omega and we love him!” Niall all but yells.  Everyone in the room stops and looks at him.  Niall pauses, his eyes widening as he realized that he just laid claim to the omega and for both himself and for the other three alphas. 

 

“Yeah, he is ours,” Liam states.

 

“Defiantly, he is ours and we are never letting him go.”  Louis states with pure conviction.   

 

“Ours,” Harry agrees immediately after. 

 

Just like that the four alphas have agreed to become the pack that Zayn had indicated that he wanted to be to the privacy of his journal.  Now all that was left to do is for Zayn to wake up and accept them as his alphas. 

 

“All right then, let’s go over what you are going to have to do to help Zayn,” Dr. Gray began.  The alphas never got to hear what Dr. Gray was going to tell them because right then the beeping on one of the machines that was hooked up to Zayn started beeping faster, indicating that his heartbeat had begun to race.  Everyone in the room jumped up and stared at Zayn as Dr. Gray began approaching him. 

 

All at once they saw Zayn open his eyes for the first time in ten days.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading and for your comments and kudos. It really means the world to me! Let me know what you think!!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the nice comments and kudos it really does mean the world to me. I appreciate you all so much!!

Zayn could hear people talking around him but he couldn’t understand what they were saying.  It sounded like they were underwater, or maybe he was underwater, he wasn’t sure.  The last thing he remembers is the twin alphas knotting him, their strong scent overpowering his senses and their cum shooting into his body cutting off his air.  All at once he smells it… the sent is overwhelming… Zayn’s felt his heart begin to race…

 

 

Multiple alphas. 

 

They were still there, it wasn’t over.  No one had come to save him. 

 

Zayn then felt something in his mouth; oh my god… the alpha was still knotting his mouth… he is actually going to die now.  Zayn’s panic rose, his chest tightening painfully and he felt his stomach clench and heave in fear.  Zayn’s eyes flew open for only a moment before squeezing shut again against the harsh light that surrounded him.  On pure instinct, Zayn’s hands reached up to his mouth to begin fighting off the object in his mouth.  He couldn’t breathe… he had to get the alpha out. 

 

Zayn felt firm hands grab him and attempt to hold him down.  Zayn fought back with everything in him, if he was going to die, he was going to go down swinging.  Zayn heard jumbled words shouted around him as more hands grabbed him and pinned him down, ceasing his movements. 

 

Zayn knew now that it was over, there was no escape.  He let his body go limp and resigned himself to his inevitable death.  He just hoped that it would be quick and not very painful.  Hadn’t he had enough pain in his life already?

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Everyone in the room saw Zayn’s eyes open then close again; a moment later chaos erupted. 

 

Zayn reached up to his face and began yanking on the respirator tube that was in his mouth.  Dr. Gray was immediately by his side grabbing his hands to try to pull them away from the medical tubes that were inserted into his body.  Dr. Gray was a petite woman and was no match for and caught off guard by Zayn’s strength and the ferocity that he displayed as he tried to disentangle the hands restricting him.  Dr. Gray understood that instantly and began yelling for help from nurses in the hallway.  The alphas as they surged forward to assist her but she snapped at them to move back and stay away; the alphas could only look on in shock as their friend flailed around on the hospital bed fending off what they could only assume he thought was his attackers. 

 

Seconds later the room was flooded by nurses rushing towards the bed.  Liam absently observed that all of the nurses that came into the room were omegas, but he didn’t have time to process why that might be.  Dr. Gray was barking out instructions at such a fast rate that the alphas couldn’t keep up.  Moments later though they heard her order in a clipped tone “Get the alphas out of the room and keep them out in the hallway!” 

 

The alphas immediately bristled at the comment.  None of them were leaving without a fight.  As one nurse broke away from the chaos around them bed and approached them they stared at her hard, making it known even without words that they were not budging.  The nurse seemed to understand this and eyed them knowingly.  Quietly she stated “I know that you want what is best for him.  I know that you want to protect him.  Right now your sent is agitating him and he is reacting in fear.  He is going to end up hurting himself.  Just by being in the room right now you are hurting him.  Step out of the room and let us do our job and take care of him.”  She made eye contact with all of the alphas and Paul while she talked making sure they heard every word she said. 

 

Paul was the first one to nod his head in understanding.  He ushers the four alphas out the door and the nurse secures the door behind them. 

 

Once outside the room, Harry leans back against the wall and puts his head in in hands before slowly slumping to the floor.  He feels tears forming in his eyes before they slide down his cheeks.  Once they start they just run faster.  Harry is overcome by overwhelming sadness.  His mind is racing with the thoughts of what had happened to Zayn.  He hurts so much for his friend.  How could anyone do this to him, let alone his own parents who orchestrated the abuse?  Harry closes his eyes and brings his knees to his chest as he pictures Zayn fighting frantically in the hospital bed.  He can’t hold it in anymore and he sobs, his heart breaking for his friend. 

 

Niall was scared.  Zayn’s reaction when he woke rocked him to his core.  Niall leaned his back against the wall next to Harry’s crouched form and hugged his arms around his middle.  He didn’t understand what had happened.  He had thought that Zayn would be … not happy… but relieved maybe, when he woke up.  After all he was safe now; no one would ever hurt him again.  But Zayn’s reaction could only be described as pure fear.  The scent of his terror when he was thrashing on the bed had shocked Niall.  He knew that Zayn would have some problems when he woke up, he would be a fool to not know that considering what had happened to Zayn; but Niall was optimistic that he along with Liam, Harry and Louis would be able to show Zayn how safe and loved he is.  They would care for him and he would heal and he would get better.  In Niall’s mind that was the only outcome of this situation.  Seeing Zayn react the way he did made Niall understand that it wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought.  It scared him that maybe Zayn would never get better. 

 

Liam faced the wall on Harry’s other side, bracing his forearm against it and ducking his head.  Daddy Direction the fans called him; so much so that the boys had even caught on and began calling him that too.  The daddy of the group, he was in charge of taking care of all of them.  He wasn’t the leader, no, that was Louis, but he was the sensible one that made sure that they never did anything to dangerous.  He had failed.  Right under his nose Zayn was hurting and living in a hidden nightmare.  Liam felt so guilty.  If he had just noticed that something was off with Zayn, he could have saved him, but no, he just assumed that the change in Zayn after the X-Factor was because he was a “beta.”  How could Liam have been so stupid!?  He should have known that something was off right off the bat.  Omegas are small and distinguishable by their beauty.  Not that betas and alphas are ugly, but omegas have this look about that that can only be described as pretty.  Zayn had always fit that description.  He was taller than most omegas, but he is male so that would account for it.  Take into account Zayn’s perfect even skin tone, the long lines of his body, the perfect curve of his pouty lips, strait nose, and the hypnotizing shade of his honey colored eyes that would appear darker or lighter depending on the light hitting them, and his perfectly sharp cheekbones, and Zayn would be considered the perfect male omega specimen.  How could Liam not have seen it? If he had Zayn would not be in this hospital scared and broken. 

 

Louis’ reaction was very different from the other boys.  Louis was angry, furious, livid even.  He paced back and forth down the hall, being sure to never stray too far from the door that Zayn was now shut behind.  Zayn’s reaction was a clear indication of the horror that he had experienced over the last four years.  Louis wasn’t stupid, he had read the journal, he knew that the abuse was bad and he knew that there would be repercussions and that it would take time for Zayn to heal both physically and mentally, but seeing his reaction, his fear, it made it real for Louis in a way that it wasn’t before.  The anger had been brewing in Louis since he first laid eyes on Zayn through the window of that God-forsaken shed.  The anger grew when the boys bathed Zayn in the Bradford hospital, gently cleaning the sweat, blood and cum from him and reviling the bruises, cuts and scratches that was hidden underneath that littered Zayn’s malnourished and bony form.  Louis was furious at the alpha twins as well as all the other alphas that had ever used Zayn.  He was livid at Zayn’s parents who sold their son and made him think so lowly of himself.  He was angry at himself and the other boys for not stopping the abuse and for waiting for so long before they went after Zayn.  Finally he was mad at Zayn.  He was mad at Zayn for keeping his secret form him and the boys.  He was mad at Zayn for hiding from them and pushing them away.  He was mad at Zayn for not trusting them enough to let them help him.  He was mad at Zayn for suffering alone for all these years when they were RIGHT THERE!! 

 

Louis had tears running down his face and he didn’t even care.  Finally he let out an angry sob and the other boys looked up at him as he was still pacing.  Slowly, Niall stood from his place leaning against the wall and approached Louis, wrapping his arms around the older boy’s waist and tucking his face into the crook of Louis’ neck.  Louis just stood there for a moment before putting his arms around Niall’s shoulders and squeezing him tightly.  Liam and Harry looked at each other, making eye contact; Liam helped Harry to his feet and held his hand gently as they made their way over to the other two boys.  Harry and Liam waved their arms around them and rested their heads on their shoulders.  The four alphas stood like that for a long while, crying together and comforting each other as best as they could. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Inside the hospital room Zayn had gone limp; Dr. Gray immediate checked the machines and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the heart monitor still showing a steady beat. 

 

“Get the restraints, he shouldn’t be moving around like he was, he may have injured himself further and we can’t risk that happening again,” she told the nurses around the bed.  Quickly restraints were brought over and Zayn was being secured to the bed by his wrists and ankles.  Additional restraints were secured across his shoulders, hips and knees.  As another precaution Zayn was administered a small dose of a sedative to help keep him calm. 

 

When that was done the nurses checked that the tubes and monitors on Zayn’s body had not come undone.  The breathing and feeding tubes had come loose where they were taped onto his skin but were still functioning properly.  His IV was remained undamaged and miraculously, none of Zayn’s stitches had ripped.  Zayn lay still on the bed and began feeling the aches and pains in his body that seemed to have intensified during his struggle. 

 

After that was done; Dr. Gray dismissed all but one of the nurses from the room.  When the three of them were alone, Dr. Gray gently took Zayn’s hand, the one without the IV, in her own and began speaking softly to Zayn. 

 

“Zayn? Zayn, my name is Dr. Gray.  If you can hear me I need you to open your eyes.  You are in the hospital.  You are safe.  No one here will hurt you.  Open your eyes.” 

 

Slowly Zayn opens his eyes and sees a young omega woman looking at him.  The woman has long light brown hair tied back from her face and kind grey eyes.  She is wearing a white lab coat.  Zayn catches movement out of the corner of his eye and jerks his head around, his eyes widening in fear and he tries to move his arms to defend himself only to find that he can’t move at all.  His terror grows and he can feel his heart start racing.  His eyes land on another young omega woman dressed in blue scrubs with red curly hair and glasses, looking at him with her eyes wide with shock. 

 

“Zayn, it’s okay.  That is Staci; she is a nurse here.  She won’t harm you.  It is just us in the room, okay?  Just the three of us in here; your safe,” Dr. Gray explained.  Zayn looks at Dr. Gray with cautious eyes, not believing that he could ever be safe again.  Dr. Gray looks back at him and says “I’m going to remove your breathing tube from your mouth okay?  It may sting a little but you’ll feel better once it is out, okay?”

 

Zayn continues to look at the doctor suspiciously, but he has to admit to himself that the feeling of the tube in his mouth is setting his nerves on edge and he wants it out.  He gives a small nod and Dr. Gray smiles at him. 

 

“Okay, here we go.”  Dr. Gray first starts carefully peeling off the medical tape from around his mouth; it was already loosened from his earlier struggling so it didn’t take much.  She then firmly grasped the tube and began gently pulling it out.  Zayn closed his eyes against a scratchy feeling in his throat as the tube was removed.  “There we are.  Now you have a feeding tube in your nose that goes into your stomach.  I’m going to take that out as well,” Dr. Gray informed him.  With that she repeated the process of removing the tube. 

 

“Now Zayn, I need to evaluate your health okay?  Now I am going to stick with yes and no questions.  I don’t want you to talk, just nod or shake your head okay?  Your voice is going to be very raw and painful for a while.  Do you understand?”  Zayn nods his head and Dr. Gray begins her questioning. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It seems like they have been in the hallway outside of Zayn’s room forever.  A bunch of the nurses who had entered the room right after Zayn woke, had exited the room a couple hours ago; none of them providing any information to the alphas waiting impatiently for any news.  The boys had taken to sitting in chairs across from the door that Paul had brought out from a waiting area down the hall.  Paul knew that the chances of getting the boys all the way down the hall to the waiting area were zero.  Paul had also excused himself to call Simon and give him an update. 

 

Finally the door to Zayn’s room opened and Dr. Gray stepped out, closing the door behind her.  Instantly the alphas were on their feet bombarding the doctor with questions, asking another question without waiting a reply from the one prior.

 

“Is he okay?”

 

“What happened?”

 

“Can we see him?”

 

“How bad is he?”

 

“Why did he panic like that?”

 

“Is he scared of us?”

 

Dr. Gray raises her hands in front of her in an attempt to calm the alphas.  “Please, I will answer all of your questions, but first let me explain his condition.”  The alphas immediately ceased their line of questioning and looked at the doctor expectantly, waiting for her to continue. 

 

“I just finished evaluating Zayn both physically and mentally.  He is suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as well as severe depression and anxiety.  He is also suffering from Panic Disorder that could lead to asthma attacks.  I don’t know what all of his triggers are that will cause an attack right now, unfortunately only time will tell.  I do know that scent, specifically that of an alpha, and sudden movements that he considers threatening are triggers for him.  When he woke, he smelled you lads, that was what caused him to panic, he thought you were there to hurt him.”

 

“We would never hurt him!  Ever!” Niall stated quickly.

 

Dr. Gray looked at Niall with knowing eyes, “Yes.  I know that, but right now, he doesn’t.  He does not know that you are here right now.”  Seeing the looks of disbelief and shock on the alphas’ faces she quickly continued.  “Biased on what his journal stated he kept it hidden form you that he was an omega because he was ashamed and thought that you would shun him and hate him if you knew.  I know that is not true, but he believes it.  Telling him that you are all here right now will cause him a lot of stress and could cause another attack.  He will find out soon, I promise and you will get to see him soon as well, I just want to prepare you before we do that.”  The alphas still looked upset but were more pacified knowing that they will get to see their friend. 

 

“Physically, as you know, he is not healing as fast as he should be.  His body is still covered in bruises and cuts that should be well on their way to healed, but still look fresh like they just happened yesterday.  His ribs and his stitches are also not healed.  I’m not going to go into detail about the amount of bruising or cuts and scrapes; I know that you have already seen them for yourselves.  His lungs are actually undamaged which is surprising considering the amount of fluid that entered them.  With the proper care, he will make a full recovery.”

 

The alphas released a sigh of relief at the doctor’s words.  Niall began crying again, but this time because he was happy that Zayn would get better and not in fear that he wouldn’t. 

 

“Now I want to go over with you the care that Zayn will need.  I will be discharging him tomorrow morning.  He will need to be taken somewhere private and quiet, away from prying eyes, where he will be able to relax.  It is my strong suggestion that you limit his exposer to people, especially alphas.  I would say that the only people that should be near him when he leaves here are the four of you and Paul of course.  You should also make sure that you mask you scent with neutralizers frequently for the time being.  You need to earn his trust before he has to face anyone else.  He needs to trust you enough to know that you will save him if anyone poses a threat to him again.  After that trust is built you can ease off of the neutralizers.  Do you understand?  Can you make that happen?”

 

“Of course we can.  I will go make some calls to have it arranged,” Paul stated and walked off down the hall pulling his phone out of his pocket on the way.  The other lads looked back at Dr. Gray waiting for her to continue. 

 

“Okay.  He will need to be on a liquid diet for another week at least because of his stitches.  He cannot lift anything more than a couple of pounds, and he should limit his movements and bending too much for the same reason.  He will need help bathing and getting dressed.  He should be watched at all times and above all he needs to be kept calm and reassured that he is safe and that you are there for him.  As you know most of this is aftercare.  That is what he needs; with enough of it, his body should start healing faster.  I will come to see how he is doing in a week and evaluate him again.”

 

The boys nod their understanding, absorbing everything that she is saying so that they know how to take care of their friend and to help him get better. 

 

“One more thing, the drug that his father gave him to start his artificial heat, it will take a long time to get out of his system, especially considering the amount that he received over such a long period of time.  I don’t know when he will go into heat again.  It could be soon or it could take months.  In case it happens soon while he is still physically recovering I am giving you this,” she hands Liam a small device that resembles an epidural pen.  “Just place it on his thigh and press the button on top.  It will not stop his heat, but it will sedate him.  His body will still react to his heat, but he will be unconscious and will not feel it.  If you have to use this, call me immediately after and I will come to examine him and see if he needs any further treatment and to provide more sedative in case he should need it.  He will need to be watched the whole time and reassured that he is okay and safe, some patients, when they come to say that they could hear what was going on around them.  Some don’t remember anything.  Above all, don’t touch him in any sort of sexual way.”

 

“’Course not!” Louis snaps.  “We want him to trust us not be more scared of us than he already is by taking advantage of him!” 

 

“Good,” Dr. Gray deadpans.  “Now the time will come when he will be ready for sex again.  It is part of his nature.  When that happens, he will need a more than usual amount of prep.  You must go slowly and carefully.  The tissue of his anus and inside his rectum will be mostly scar tissue and will not have the elasticity of regular tissue.  It will eventually regain the elasticity but it will take a while to do that.  Be very gentle with him, not doing so could cause him to rip open again.”

 

“Understood,” Harry said.  “That time won’t come for a long time though.  None of us would ever pressure him to do that until he is ready.  We have waited for four years already; we will wait for as long as it takes.”

 

“Okay boys, I have everything taken care of for tomorrow.  I have a van that I will pick up and bring back here then I will take you to Harry’s private house just outside of the city.  I have security that will be set up at the perimeter of the building and no one will be allowed in but the five of us, Zayn, and Dr. Gray,” Paul stated as he walked back up to the group outside of the door. 

 

“Well, now that that is settled; let’s cover up your scents and take you to see Zayn,” the doctor smiled.  The boys all looked at each other with great anticipation, wondering how Zayn would respond to them.  Dr. Gray grabbed them each a bottle of neutralizer and said that she would get more for them before Zayn was discharged, and showed them how to spray it and the areas of their bodies that they should concentrate on.  She also provided them with pills that would mask their scents, but it would take a while for it to fully get into their systems and work, until then the spray would have to suffice.  When that was finished she opened the door to Zayn’s room, and slowly Liam, Louis, Niall and Harry walked into the room. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know what you think. I may not always respond back to comments but I really enjoy reading them. Thank you so much for reading!!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took so long for this update, by know you all know some of the troubles that I have been having lately. I'm sorry if this chapter seems a bit forced, I really wanted to update, but just didn't have the motivation to do so. Hopefully you all like it!

Zayn quickly spun his head around when he heard the door click open.  He had been blankly staring out the window at the London skyline.  He immediately regretting moving so fast when pain shot from the back of his head, across his shoulders, and down to the middle of his back; he was barely able to suppress a groan of pain before his four bandmates were entering his hospital room. 

 

What were they doing here?  The doctor didn’t tell him that anyone was here for him.  She couldn’t have told them what happed right?  Where his injuries came from?  That he was an omega?  No.  That was a confidentiality issue.  As far as his bandmates knew he was supposed to be in Bradford; how had he gotten to London anyway?

 

 **Just now figuring that out huh, you stupid little bitch.  If you were smart enough you would have thought of that as soon as you looked out your window and saw London.  Always knew that you were stupid, a waste of space, only good for a fuck.  That is what you will always be.**  
  


Zayn heard the harsh words in his mind, and instantly had to hold back tears that were threatening to surface in his eyes.  Zayn’s mind raced to come up with a convincing lie that would explain all the damage to his body.  As he did this he eyed his best mates while trying to school his face into a look of grateful greeting, while hiding his trembling hands in the blanket covering his stomach. 

 

The alphas cautiously entered the room and lined up against the wall across from Zayn’s bed.  The nurse who was in the room silently looked between the alphas and the fragile omega before quickly taking her leave from the room, closing the door behind her as she went. 

 

The alphas eyed Zayn warily, not wanting to say anything that would scare him or cause him to become defensive.  Finally Niall broke the tense atmosphere and gave Zayn a small smile, asking “How are you feeling Zaynie?”

 

“I’m feeling fine Ni, just a little sore, I really should be more careful going down the stairs though,” Zayn said as lightheartedly as he could.  He paused when he heard a slight grumbling sound coming from deep in Louis’ chest.  Fighting against his omega instinct, to keep up the pretense of being a beta, Zayn continued on “but I’ll be fine.  Be right as rain in a couple days.  There was no need for you all to come all the way here to see me.  I’ll be at rehearsals by the end of the week.  I can’t wait to get back on tour!”  Zayn says with a forced smile, knowing that everything that he had just spewed out was complete and utter bullshit except for the last line… he really did want to back on tour; preferably outside of England; even better outside of Europe… somewhere on the other side of the world would be perfect, as far away from his parents and the horrors that he endured in Bradford.  Zayn just wanted to escape.

 

Liam looked on at Zayn clearing his throat to get the omega’s attention.  Zayn sees the disappointment in Liam’s eyes and his body shrinking into itself against his will.  Liam was never great at hiding his emotions, and every part of his being, from the furrow of his brow, the purse of his lips, and the set of his shoulders screamed that he saw right through Zayn’s lie.

 

“Zayn, we know what happened.” Liam said slowly and carefully, trying to ease the omega who was unsuccessfully trying to hide his trembling hands. 

 

“Of course you know what happened.  I just told you that I fell down the stairs.  It was a hard fall but really… You can ask my parents.  They’ll tell you…” Zayn was abruptly cut off by the snarl that ripped its way out of Louis’ throat at the mention of the omega’s parents.  Zayn couldn’t even attempt to hide the way that his body tightened around itself and bearing his neck to the alpha.  He was just as shocked into submission by the thundering growls that rumbled in Harry and Liam’s chest.  Zayn was scared; he didn’t know what caused the alphas to react that way to him, but he knew that he had messed up and that he would be punished severely for it. 

 

Niall was the only one who kept his cool, and slowly approached Zayn’s bed with his hands held up in front of him with his palms out.  Zayn stiffened at Niall’s movements but still kept his head bowed.  Zayn was determined to take his punishment.  He didn’t know what he had done wrong but he knew that his only option was to take what was coming to him; trying to fight back or begging for mercy would only make it worse. 

 

Niall smelled the fear rolling off of Zayn’s tiny frame; but continued his trek to Zayn’s side, moving slowly but steadily.  When he made it to Zayn’s side, Zayn was resolutely sitting with his neck on display; refusing to look up at Niall.  That just wouldn’t do Niall thought to himself.  “Zayn?  Can you look at me?  Please?  I won’t hurt you… I promise.”  Zayn still stared down at the bed, refusing Niall’s request was hard, but he couldn’t let Niall know how scared he was of his blonde friend. 

 

Niall could see that Zayn was not going to budge.  He saw the way that Zayn was submitting to him and knew how hard it must be for Zayn.  Niall knew that he had to get through to the omega soon to stop him from any further distress.  They were supposed to be keeping the omega calm and so far they seemed to be doing a piss poor job of it.  Niall kneeled down next to the bed, making himself smaller and hopefully less frightening he hoped.  Again he tried, “Zayn please, I’m begging you, please just look at me.  You know me, you know us.  You know that we will not hurt you in any way.  We couldn’t.”

 

Zayn tried to fight it, he really did, but damn it, he loved the Irish lad and it physically pained him to deny Niall anything that he wanted.  Slowly Zayn turned his head to look down into Niall’s sad eyes.  “Zayn, I have to tell you something, I need you to stay calm and believe me when I say that everything is going to be okay.  Don’t say anything until I am done, yeah?  Can you do that for me?”

 

Zayn sighed, his chest tightening, but regardless stated “I’ll try.”  Niall nodded.

 

“That is the best that I can hope for I think,” Niall said giving the omega a small smile.  Niall took a deep breath before continuing.  “Zayn, we know about the alphas.”  Zayn’s eyes immediately widened and a blush of embarrassment rushed to his face and ears before spreading down to his chest, the shaking in his hands expanded until his entire body was trembling.  Zayn’s mouth opened quickly to protest, to deny it, anything to keep his dark secret hidden from the group of boys that he had grown so close to, he loved them all.  He couldn’t let them know what really happened on his breaks, he would lose them.  They would never look at him the same way again.  They would hate him.  Kick him out of the band.  He would be stuck in Bradford with no way to ever get out again.  No, Zayn thought to himself… he would not let that happen.  He would kill himself before he let that happen.  Better to be dead than to have to suffer like that again.  He couldn’t do it. 

 

Before Zayn could voice anything, Niall was holding up his hand and shushing him, reminding him to stay silent until he was finished.  Zayn bit his tongue and listened to Niall as he began to speak again.  “We know about the alphas,” he repeated softly.  “No one told us, we saw you.  We were worried about you.  You always come back to us exhausted and underweight.  We were going to sit you down and make you tell us what was going on; but you left to go back to Bradford before we could.  We gave you a couple of days, but we were really worried; something just felt wrong.  We went to Bradford to find you to make sure you were okay.”

 

Zayn’s face paled under his bruised skin and his heart began pounding hard and quick in his chest.  He could feel the panic rising in him.  They could not know!  They didn’t see it!  They couldn’t have.  But Zayn knew that they must have and he felt his world crashing and burning around him.  Tears of humiliation and shame trickled down his cheeks as his breathing quickened and he felt stabs of pain in his chest. 

 

“Ni, his monitors,” Harry stated softly.  The other three alphas had been looking on in silence, watching how Zayn reacted to what Niall was telling him.  They were getting increasingly worried as the beeping monitors that were hooked up to Zayn began to increase their speed, their incessant noise seemed to almost turn into a solid wail that would not pause and had no breaks.

 

“I know Harry,” Niall whispered without looking at his fellow alpha.  Niall resolutely continued speaking to the panicked omega in front of him.  “Zayn we saw you through the window of that god-forsaken shed.  We saw what those alphas were doing to you.  We saw you as you passed out for the last time.  We know that you are an omega Zayn.”

 

At those words, Zayn began sobbing harshly, trying to curl up in a ball but he was in too much pain to be able to do that.  He wished that he would have died.  It would be better than this. 

 

 **No you piece of shit.  This is what you deserve.  You lied to them, now you need to pay for it.  You need to lose everything that you hold so dear.  You need to be punished.  You will spend the rest of your miserable life alone, knowing that your best mates hate you fucking guts.**  

 

Zayn shuddered at the voice in his head; knowing that what it was saying was true, he did deserve this. 

 

“Oh Zayn, it’s going to be alight.  We saved you.  We are going to keep you safe now.  No one will ever hurt you again,” Niall soothed.  When Zayn just cried harder at his words he asked gently, “Can I lay next to you?  You can cry on my shoulder.  Please let me comfort you.”  When Zayn didn’t respond, Niall didn’t even know if the distressed omega even heard him over his sobs so he slowly stood up.  Niall could see the shattered omega falling apart in front of his very eyes; it hurt him and brought tears to his own eyes that he couldn’t bother to try to hold back. 

 

When Zayn didn’t react to Niall’s movements, the alpha slowly began to climb into the bed next to him.  As carefully as he could, minding the bruises that littered Zayn’s body he pulled the omega to his chest.  Finally, Niall’s actions got through to Zayn and his body stiffened in Niall’s hold. 

 

“It’s okay, it’s okay.  You’re safe now.  Please let me comfort you.  I won’t hurt you.  None of us will.  I promise.  It’s okay.”

 

Finally Zayn let his omega instincts surface as he buried his face in Niall’s chest, clutching at his shirt with all his strength.  Zayn continued to cry as Niall cooed softly to him, not hearing the words that were being said, just being soothed by the Irishmen’s voice.  Zayn cried and cried, ignoring the pain in his body. 

 

Zayn cried for all the hurt and pain he had felt at the hands of alphas, at the hands of his parents.  He cried for all the lies he told to keep his secret hidden.  He cried for being a bad omega.  He cried to release all the anguish that had been building up in his mind and body for years. 

 

He cried because he knew that he would be losing his best friends; knowing that they would never look at him the same way again; knowing that they would hate him; knowing that they would never, ever forgive a transgression like this. 

 

Zayn cried for the career that he knew he would lose because of his shameful omega status.  The fans would hate him, the media would hate him, and management would hate him.  They would drop him and ether find a replacement or keep One Direction as a four man boy band instead of five. 

 

Niall couldn’t bear to tell Zayn the rest of all they knew and how they knew it.  Zayn was already falling to pieces… he couldn’t add to his pain and anguish; not right now.  That time would just have to come later. 

 

It was hours later before Zayn’s crying started to subside, too tired and worn to be able to continue and fell into an exhausted sleep, still clutching at Niall, never noticing the lack of alpha scent despite the four alphas in the room.  As they saw Zayn’s breathing even out, Harry, Liam and Louis made their way to the bed, quietly pulling up chairs, just to be closer to the sleeping omega.  They prayed that they would be strong enough to get their omega through this dark time. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

When morning arrived Liam quietly left the room, waking up Harry on his way out to stand guard while he was away.  Liam found Dr. Gray and picked up the neutralizing spray and prescription pain killers and other medicines and bandages for Zayn as well as instructions on how to clean and care for his wounds, and making sure that all the paperwork was properly filled out for Zayn’s discharge.  He made certain that everything was in place to get Zayn safely through the crowd and into the van. 

 

While Liam was on his way back to Zayn’s room, Paul stopped him and gave him a bag with clothes for Zayn.  Liam thanked him and continued onto Zayn’s room.  When he entered he saw that Louis and Niall were now awake.  Niall had managed to escape from Zayn’s clutches.  Zayn still slept, now cuddling onto a pillow.  Liam signaled to the others that had Zayn’s clothes and that he was going to hop in the shower quickly before Zayn woke up.

 

Liam finished his shower quickly and dressed in clean clothes.  One by one the other alphas followed suit, being sure to neutralize their smell before leaving the bathroom, and soon enough it was time to wake Zayn.  This had never been an easy task to begin with but they didn’t know how he would react to them now.  Harry kneeled down near Zayn’s face, being careful not to get too close in case he got startled.  “Zayn?  Zayn, sweetie it’s time to get up, you’re being discharged today,” Harry said lightly, trying to coax Zayn out of his slumber.  “Zayn babe, I need you to wake up for me now.  It’s Harry.”  Still Zayn slept.  Harry then cautiously reached out one of his large hands and gently placed his hand on the side of Zayn’s face and rubbing his thumb along an area of his cheek that was not bruised; the area wasn’t very big.  “Zaynie, wake up.”

 

Zayn slowly opened his eyes and blinked at Harry before jerking away from Harry’s outstretched hand.  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to frighten you,” Harry soothed.  “You got to get up though… you’re being discharged today.” 

 

Zayn lowered his head as the events of the previous day ran through his head.  He had broken down in front of the alphas, he had been weak.  He was ashamed of himself.  He didn’t want to face the alphas, didn’t want to see their smug expressions at his weakens. 

 

**That’s right.  You’re a dirty, nasty, USED omega.  Nobody wants you.  You’re a slut, you’ve had so many cocks up your arse nobody else will ever want you.  Someone should just chain you up from the ceiling, spread open so you can’t move and then fuck you over and over until you die.  Better yet… you should just kill yourself.  You are a disgrace, a slut, a little whiny bitch, a whore.  You are a filthy excuse for a human being.  You know that you enjoyed every cock that split you open.  You know that you deserved being fucked into the mattress until you passed out; just a shame that you are still alive.**

 

Zayn heard the voices over and over in his head, he couldn’t stop them.  A part of him didn’t want them to stop.  He knew that he deserved every action and cruel word that was said to him.  He couldn’t forget that, he knew that the voices wouldn’t let him forget it. 

 

“Zayn, we need to get you showered and dressed so that we can go home okay?” Liam asked, pulling Zayn’s attention away from his inter thoughts.  Without saying a word or looking at any of the alphas in the room, he slowly nodded his head.  The other boys helped him out of bed and into the bathroom.  The short walk there and the hands on his skin were excruciatingly painful; but he refused to let himself show his pain and discomfort.  He was gently assisted into the shower and washed.  Zayn managed to not panic at the contact; only stiffening when Harry carefully washed between his legs.

 

Zayn was trying so hard to hide his emotions from the alphas, but they were not fooled.  They could smell the fear and discomfort coming off of him.  They kept talking to him, assuring him that everything was okay, that he was safe.  They told him every time they were going to touch him so that he would expect the contact and not get scared of it.  When they were done cleaning Zayn they carefully got him out of the shower making sure to support him under his arms, the only place on him not littered with bruises, to make sure that he did not slip on the wet floor. 

 

Quickly his ribs were rebadged and Liam grabbed a pair of Zayn’s boxer briefs from his pile of clothes, and knelt down in front of him.  “Can you lift your leg for me darling?”  Slowly Zayn complied, humiliated at the way he was being treated, but oddly, almost comforted by the alphas actions.  He had never been treated like this before, he was confused.  Once he had one foot in the boxers, Zayn lifted his other foot and Liam pulled the boxer briefs all the way up.  Louis let out a gasp when he saw the way the once tight and form fitting boxers now were barely able to hang onto Zayn’s hipbones.  Liam quickly got Zayn into a pair of joggers that were also too big on him now.  He gently tightened the drawstring.  Zayn had begun shivering and had goose bumps all up his harms and across his chest.  It took a little more maneuvering to get Zayn into the soft t-shirt and fluffy hoodie that they had for him, but they managed. 

 

After he was dressed, the alphas walked Zayn out into his room to get him in a wheelchair that the hospital said he had to leave the building in for liability reasons.  Zayn balked as soon as he laid eyes on it.  He didn’t want to be seen as more weak then he already was.  “It’s okay Zayn; it’s just until we get you to the van, it will be much safer for you in the chair,” Niall stated calmly.  Zayn took a deep breath, wincing at the ache in his ribs as he did so, and let himself be led to the chair.  He was more tired from the shower and dressing then he cared to admit even to himself… he wasn’t even doing any of the real work! 

 

**You’re pathetic.**

 

Zayn hated to admit it, but the voice was right… he was pathetic.  Even sitting in the damn chair hurt him.  His whole body was sore. 

 

Harry grabbed Zayn’s shoes and socks and sat on the floor in front of the omega, gently grabbing one foot after the other and putting the items on him.  At least his socks still fit, Harry thought to himself.  He made sure to tie the shoes loosely so as not to rub as much on Zayn’s bruised ankles.  When that was done, Niall slowly inched his hands through Zayn’s damp hair, pulling it back from his face and slipping a beanie on his head to keep him warm.  Louis then slipped forward and placed a pair of aviators on his face to hide some of his facial injuries.  With that, the bandmates were off, pushing Zayn down the hall to the elevator and heading to the front of the lobby. 

 

Paul came into sight, with a sorry look on his face.  “I’m sorry boys; the whole hospital is surrounded with fans and media.  We can’t get him out through the back entrance; we will have to go out the front.”  It took until Paul had finished his statement for Zayn to smell the alpha; his heart rate speeding until it was practically beating through his chest.  Panic set in almost immediately and he was having trouble breathing and his body was quaking uncontrollably.  Even though he trusted Paul; knew that he was there to keep him and the other boys safe, he had no way to stop his reaction.  Seeing Zayn and smelling the panic, Paul quickly backed away.  Louis thought quickly and dug his neutralizer spray out of his pocket and doused his fingers in it.  Louis reached down and grasped Zayn’s chin in his small hands, rubbing his fingers around Zayn’s nose to block the scent of the alpha that was frightening him. 

 

Louis looked into Zayn’s eyes behind the glasses perched on his nose and watched the panic recede out of them.  “Is that better?”  Zayn nodded slowly, his breathing and heart slowing down to normal after a few minutes. 

 

When Zayn was back to normal again, he looked out the glass entry way of the hospital and gasped at the sea of people out there.  It seemed like everyone was yelling and taking pictures and videos, though he couldn’t really hear the noise over the pounding in his hears as his heart rate picked back up again.  Liam couched down next to Zayn and asked him if he was all right.  Zayn couldn’t bring himself to look at Liam, his eyes glued to the mass of people waiting for him.  “Do they know?” Zayn asked quietly with a hitch in his voice.  Those were the first words that Zayn had spoken since the night before. 

 

Liam looked at him sadly and said “They know that you’re an omega and that you were badly hurt by an alpha while you were home in Bradford.  That is all they know.”  Zayn nodded his head and looked down at his hands laying in his lap. 

 

“All right boys, here is the plan,” Paul spoke loudly, “meself and eight other blokes are going to surround the five of you to keep the masses away.  Niall, you are going to push Zayn.  Liam and Harry, you’re going to be on either side of him, and Louis you are going to walk in front of him.  That way we have two circles of protection around Zayn so that he does not get further injured.  Any questions?”  Nobody said anything, “Okay then, let’s move!” 

 

Quickly everyone got in position and headed towards the sliding glass doors leading outside.  Just before the doors opened, Zayn took a deep breath and held it, preparing for the onslaught of taunts and jeers that he knew was coming. 

 

Instead, when the doors opened and Zayn became visible in the wheelchair to the crowd, a silence took over the crowd.  Slowly, the crowd started pushing themselves back, then even farther back, until there was an empty path to the van that was ten feet wide.  Paul, security, and the boys (aside from Zayn) looked on in shock.  They had never been met like this before.  Tears of appreciation began forming in Liam and Niall’s eyes.  Both thinking to themselves that they really do have the best fans in the world, even the media people had backed off, some even put down their cameras.  The entourage was able to wheel Zayn out of the building and to the van with no problems.  There was no talking or screaming or yelling from the crowd.  Enough of Zayn’s face and neck was visible for them to see a small part of the damage that he had sustained.  All were shocked that any alpha could cause that kind of damage to an omega, let alone to Zayn who always seemed so quiet and shy in interviews and even onstage when he was preforming. 

 

Once they got to the van, Harry and Louis climbed in, Harry turning back to Liam after he was in.  Liam leaned over Zayn and whispered to him that he was going to pick him up and pass him to Harry.  Zayn nodded, and held in a cry of pain when Liam placed one arm around his shoulders and one under his knees and lifted him out of the chair.  Liam handed Zayn to Harry, who moved him into the middle seat in the second row and carefully buckled him in.  Liam and Niall climbed in after, Niall claiming the seat between the window and Zayn, leaving the other three alphas to the back seat.  Once the door was closed and Paul was in the driver’s seat, they took off leaving the hospital behind gladly.  The alphas were happy to be out of there, glad that they had their omega with them. 

 

Zayn however was uneasy.  He didn’t know what was going to happen to him when they arrived at their new home. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted this chapter to be longer, but decided to end it here, because I didn't know how long it would take me to finish it the way I wanted... it took over a week to write this little bit! 
> 
> Anyway feel free to comment!! They always make me feel better!
> 
> Also, thanks for sticking by and waiting! You all are the best!!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to update this. My life has literally been falling apart. I lost my job, which I hated anyway but I still needed the income. The bills are not going to pay themselves. 
> 
> But anyway, today is my birthday, so I thought that I would give you all an update as a celebration! So I hope you enjoy!

Zayn was in agony; both physically and mentally during the ride to Harry’s house.  He kept replaying the events of last night and this morning in his head, being egged on by the voices hurling insult after insult at him.  The longer he thought about it the more horrified he got at himself losing it last night.  Every bump in the road that the car hit went straight through his damaged body.  Zayn felt every movement in his bones and skin.  He had shown so much weakness.  He needed to be strong now; if he wasn’t he knew that he would be hurt, and soon.  He kept his bottom lip between his teeth as he chewed on it harshly not making a sound of pain and trying to ignore the words playing in his head. 

 

The ride to the house was longer than Harry remembered.  It had been years since he had been to the house; he had never really spent much time there.  He had thought that the house was just outside of London; and it was, but it was way outside of London.  It’s probably for the better, Harry thought to himself, at least this way we won’t be as easy to find by fans or media. 

 

When the group arrived at the house, they quickly helped Zayn out of the van and into the house.  Zayn had to hold back a cry of pain with every touch of the alphas hands on him.  It was colder there than in London; there were no tall buildings to create blocks for the wind.  The alphas had to hurry because they didn’t want Zayn to catch a cold or get chilled.  Zayn was still very underweight and his immune system had taken a large hit.  If he got sick it would only lengthen his recovery time.

 

Liam stayed just outside the door to talk to Paul about the security arraignments that had been made for their stay at the house.  Management had been watching the news and social media sites and had discovered some disturbing information.  There was a small group that was gaining followers that had expressed hatred of Zayn and the alphas due to the deaths of David and Dillon.  A few of the alpha twins family members had founded the group and it was drawing members from unfit alphas; no doubt ones that had raped Zayn were in the group as well.  This growing group was calling for retaliation on the band and Zayn in particular. 

 

The threat at this time was minimal but it had the potential to become a big issue later on.  To prepare for that, their security had been increased substantially.  A state of the art security system was added to the house which only Paul and the boys would know the code to, none of the other security would be able to enter the house unless they were accompanied by Paul or if the boys let them in.  There would also be armed security rounds around the house and the perimeter of the yard 24/7 to be on the lookout for anyone or anything suspicious on or around the property. 

 

As soon as they got inside the foyer, all the boys looked around in amazement.  The house was beautiful; all sparkling white walls, with deep mahogany trim.  There was a curving stair case straight in front of them that lead to the bedrooms.  To the right was a grand doorway leading to an impressively large kitchen.  The cupboards were all the deep mahogany, the countertops were a sparkling gray and white marble, all the appliances were a shiny stainless steel, the hardware on the cupboard doors were matching stainless steel.  There was a double oven built into the cabinets and the fridge was massive.  There was a double layer island with a small sink on the shorter side and five barstools on the taller side.  There was a rack hanging from the ceiling that had pots and pans hanging from it; they all looked new like they had never been used before. 

 

On one side of the kitchen was a breakfast nook complete with a bench and chairs in front of the window.  There was a lovely view out the window showing a rolling hill leading up into woods that surrounded three sides of the property. 

 

Zayn was exhausted and his whole body ached.  He couldn’t help but use Liam and Harry as support to keep him standing.  Feeling Zayn lean more of his meager body weight on them, Liam and Harry led him through the mahogany double doors leading to the living room.  The living room was darker than the other parts of the house they had seen so far; due to the lack of any windows.  The right wall walking into the room was filled with built in shelves that were filled with DVD’s and video games; most of which looked to have been unopened.  In the middle of the shelves was a large flat screen telly.  A shelf under that was filled with a Blue Ray player and various gaming systems.  There was a large wrap around black leather corner couch with a chaise lounge seat that sat to the left of the doorway.  There was a small table behind two sides of the couch that acted as a coffee table.  There was also a large reading chair by the couch that would easily be able to fit two people with room left over. 

 

Liam and Harry carefully moved Zayn to the lounge seat; Louis going to the closet in the back of the room to find pillows and blankets.  Zayn was maneuvered so he was laying on the lounge with a couple of pillows behind his back to support him better.  Zayn had to suck in a large gulp of air as Liam took off his shoes and covered him with a thick fleece blanket.  Zayn only let out the air he was holding in his lungs when the three alphas stepped away from him and took their seats on the other end of the couch. 

 

Zayn kept his eyes on his hands that were nervously fidgeting with the blanket.  He hadn’t said a word since they had left the hospital and he didn’t plan on saying anything for the foreseeable future.  He was trying to cover his panic up so that the alphas didn’t sense it.  He was terrified of being alone in a secluded place like this with the alphas.

 

Meanwhile, Niall headed straight to the kitchen to check the food situation.  After riffling through all the cupboards and the fridge; he quickly grabbed chocolate ice cream, chocolate milk and creamy peanut butter.  As he was attempting to grab the blender that was on a shelf just out of his reach he knocked a canister of sugar over; Harry hearing the noise from the living room got up to see what the blonde alpha was up too.   

 

Upon entering the kitchen, Harry was met with a sheepish looking Niall covered in sugar.  Harry chuckled as he took in the sight and walked over to Niall.  “What are you doing mate, trying to make yourself sweeter?” Harry said with a grin.

 

Niall frowned at the curly haired alpha in front of him.  “I just wanted to make Zayn a milkshake since he can’t eat solid foods.  He hasn’t eaten yet today and he is so skinny.  But I can’t reach the blender and when I tried I dropped the sugar…”

 

Harry could tell that Niall was genuinely upset by the wetness of his eyes and the slight tremble in his voice.  Harry quickly pulled the boy into a tight hug and whispered in his ear “It’s okay.  I’ll get you the blender and clean up the mess.  You make the milkshake.  Alright?”  Niall nodded eagerly, his face brightening, going back to the happy Niall that the boys know and love.  With that Harry knocked the excess sugar off Niall’s head and handed the blender down from the shelf. 

 

Niall had just finished adding all the ingredients into the blender, when Harry walked up next to him already having cleaned up the spilled sugar.  Harry eyed the blender suspiciously.  “Chocolate, chocolate and peanut butter?” he asked with one eyebrow raised.

 

“Ya, he needs to gain weight.  What better way that that?” Niall said confidently.

 

“He also needs nutrients and vitamins to keep him healthy.”  At Harry’s words Niall just stared blankly at the blender then shifted his eyes to Harry, not being able to say anything.  Harry sighed and grabbed a banana from the fruit basket and peeled it.  “At least add this to it,” he said as he broke the banana up into pieces putting it into the blender. 

 

Niall brought the finished shake into the living room and sat gently on the edge of the lounge facing Zayn, ignoring the way that Zayn tensed.  “Here Zayn, I made you something to eat.”  Zayn looked up only to glance at the shake then reached out a timid hand to take the glass from Niall, he was hungry.  Zayn didn’t notice the stricken look on Niall’s face since he never even looked at him before turning his attention back to his lap with his hand still outstretched. 

 

“Z, please let me do it,” Niall said in a quiet voice, barely loud enough to hear.  Zayn hastily shook his head, regretting it almost immediately when pain shot through his skull and down his neck, making him wince.  The alphas saw and wanted to comfort the omega, but in the short time they had been in the house, Zayn had effectively closed himself off, almost like he built an invisible wall around himself for protection.  He couldn’t break it, he needed to be strong. 

 

Zayn didn’t even get why they were trying to feed him and keep him warm.  He didn’t understand why they were treating him like this anyway.  They were just going to rape him and beat him, why were even preforming this charade?  It didn’t make any sense to him.  Maybe they just wanted to fuck with his head before they fucked his body.  Or maybe they wanted to get him healed enough so that he would last longer.  There were four of them and with the state that Zayn was in at this moment he knew that he wouldn’t be able to survive them all; two had nearly killed him already.  Maybe if he purposely didn’t let himself get better the alphas would get pissed off and kill him outright for taking too long to get better. 

 

But Zayn was really hungry.  He had been on a feeding tube in the hospital but that hadn’t made him feel full; it just gave him the calories, vitamins, and nutrients that his body needed to survive.  Zayn decided that he could eat now and start his plan of not getting better later; he deserved a meal after all he had been through, right? 

 

His mind being made up, Zayn thought he could feed himself damn it!  He could take care of himself.  He didn’t need anyone babying him.  Zayn was an adult and he had survived Hell and back more times than he could bear to remember.  He didn’t need their help and he didn’t want it.  Zayn just wanted to get the abuse over and be done with it.  He hoped that maybe this time he would die and be free of the torture that was the only thing that he had known in his life for so long. 

 

Seeing that the omega was not going to budge on his stance, and wanted to prevent any kind of unfortunate situation, Liam leaned in and said softly to Zayn “It would mean a lot to him Z.  He made that special for you.  Let him feed you; we all just want to make sure that you are okay.  Letting us help you does not make you weak.  You need to understand that, please.”

 

Zayn’s resolve began to waiver; despite what he knew the alphas would be doing to him in the future, he still had love in his heart for them.  He knew that it was stupid, omegas are meant to be used and used until they are nothing then be thrown away like the trash that they are.  He knew this yet he still had grown to love them over the years even though he knew they would never return that love to him; a used dirty omega whore.  He did not want to upset them and he wanted the milkshake anyway… so what could it hurt at this point? 

 

Slowly he lowered his hand, not seeing the proud look on Liam’s face or the bright smile that formed on Niall’s face at being allowed to care for the omega that was still breathtakingly beautiful despite the bruises and cuts that shadowed his face.  Niall carefully slipped closer to Zayn being careful not to spook him and brought a spoonful of his concoction up to Zayn’s lips.  Zayn obediently opened his mouth and closed his lips around the spoon, tasting for the first time in what seemed like forever something so sweet that it literally melted in his mouth.  Zayn could taste the chocolate and peanut butter… He loved it; Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were one of his favorite candies since he was a young child.  He could also make out the banana which was such a delightful touch of flavor that he couldn’t help the small moan that came from the back of his throat. 

 

Zayn immediately regretted the action even though he knew that he wouldn’t have been able to stop it even if he had tried.  He felt his face redden with embarrassment; then whiten with fear right afterword.  He didn’t want the alphas taking the moan the wrong way and try to make their move on him right now. 

 

Just then, Harry entered the room with four more milkshakes on a serving tray in his hands, effectively taking the focus off of Zayn, at least for the moment.  The other three alphas looked at him with questions in their eyes.  Harry looked at them sheepishly and said “I just figured that if Zayn could only eat liquids for a week that we could show him our solidarity by also being on a liquid diet with him.”

 

Liam looked up at Harry who was now looking uncomfortable and said with a smile “I think that is a great idea!  What have you got for us there?”  Harry then passed out the shakes to Louis, Liam, and Niall, sitting down with his own on the large chair.  There was a strawberry banana for Louis, a mango peach for Liam, and a chocolate for Niall who set his aside in favor of feeding Zayn his first.  Harry himself had made a blueberry and raspberry shake with a small handful of kale. 

 

Zayn was more than a little shocked when Niall had put his shake down on the table and continued feeding him.  They all knew how much Niall loved his food.  The others though didn’t even blink an eye; they knew how much Zayn meant to the blonde Irishman.  Niall eventually put a straw in Zayn’s shake and held it up to his mouth.  Zayn quietly sucking on the straw even though the action make him feel very uncomfortable and brought back horrid memories of being forced to suck dick.  Zayn didn’t say anything, still holding his tongue and refusing to speak or respond to any of the conversations that the alphas were having quietly around him.  Zayn still avoided looking at his bandmates. 

 

After they had all finished their milkshakes and Liam had taken all the dirty dishes to the kitchen to wash they decided to put in a movie to watch.  Louis picked out Aladdin knowing how much Zayn had liked the movie.  After putting the disk into the player everyone settled in with pillows and blankets to watch.  Niall laid down on the lounge next to Zayn but being sure not to touch him.  Niall could tell that Zayn was uneasy but couldn’t help his need to be close to the tiny omega. 

 

Once the movie began Zayn found himself looking up at the telly and losing himself in the magic of Disney.  When it was over, Louis got up and popped in Return of Jafar.  This one was not nearly as good as the first but Iago was awesome to watch so it was still okay.  After that they watched the third movie; which was so bad that it wasn’t even worth remembering the title, but once you start a movie saga you have to finish it no matter how bad it is. 

 

By the time that they are done watching the films it is dark outside and they are all tired.  Liam gets Zayn his medicine to take along with a water bottle to keep on the bedside table in case Zayn needed it in the middle of the night.

 

Harry slowly approached Zayn who was still lying under the blanket and fully clothed sans his shoes.  Harry sat down next to him and attempted to look Zayn in the eyes.  Zayn quickly averted his attention elsewhere, being too afraid to look at Harry.  Seeing this Harry asked “Z sweetie, we need to get you up to bed, you have to be exhausted.  I’m going to help you stand and walk you up the stairs okay?”  Zayn took a deep breath, or at least as deep of a breath that he could without hurting his broken ribs, and nodded.  “Good, I also want you to know beforehand so you don’t get more frightened, that if you start to wobble or look faint or get too tired that I will pick you up and carry you.  I know that being carried hurts right now and probably scares the shit out of you; but I can’t have you falling and hurting yourself more.  Do you understand?”  Again Zayn nods, knowing that it would happen whether he agreed or not.  “Good,” Harry said satisfied as he stood up. 

 

Zayn slowly sat up attempting and failing to hide how much the small action hurt him.  Seeing the pain written all over the omega’s face Harry gently grabbed Zayn’s feet and moved them around to sit flat on the floor.  Harry then stood in front of Zayn and placed his hands under the omegas arm pits and gently pulled him to a standing position.  Once he was sure that Zayn would stay standing on his own he repositioned himself with one arm around Zayn’s back with his hand under his arm pit where there were no bruises and his other hand holding Zayn’s hand to support him.  With that they slowly made their way to the staircase.

 

Zayn’s skin was crawling under Harry’s touch.  He wanted to go faster and get into bed so that Harry wouldn’t be touching him.  He couldn’t stand it.  About halfway up the staircase he couldn’t take it anymore, his stomach was rolling and he started to feel lightheaded.  When Zayn had trouble making the next step; not being able to lift his foot high enough, Harry called it quits.  The alpha carefully lifted Zayn’s arm around his shoulder and placed his arms on the omegas lower back and under his knees and lifted him into his arms and continued on his way to the master bedroom. 

 

Zayn began to panic in Harry’s arms.  His stomach was still churning, his head pounding and he began breathing in uneven gasps.  By the time Harry made it to the bedroom Zayn was hyperventilating.  Harry gently placed Zayn on the bed and kneeled down in front of him.  Harry reached up and cupped Zayn’s cheeks in his large hands making Zayn look him in the eye for the first time all day.  There he found panic shining though and it broke his heart.  “Zayn?  Zayn, I need you to look at me, I need you to see me and listen.  You need to slow your breathing down.  You’re breathing too fast for your body to absorb the oxygen that it needs.  Just breath slowly, in and out, in and out.”  Over his shoulder Harry called out as calmly as he could for someone to bring the inhaler that had been prescribed for Zayn.  While waiting for the inhaler Harry continued to try to get the omega to breath normally.  He would for a few moments then the panic would rise up in him again and the quick shallow breaths would reoccur.  Liam finally returned after retrieving the inhaler and handed it to Harry. 

 

“Okay Zayn, I’m going to put the inhaler between your lips and I want you to breath in the medicine okay?  It will help I promise.  I have to use these too remember.  It will be okay and you’ll be fine.”  With that Harry positioned the inhaler and when Zayn sucked in a breath he depressed the inhaler sending the medicine into his lungs.  The process had to be repeated two more times before Zayn was able get control of his breathing.  After a few minutes, the alphas were able to get the rest of Zayn’s pills into his system and get him changed into a pair of basketball shorts and a loose sleeveless tank.  Zayn’s body and mind were too tired to protest anymore.  The panic attack had taken a lot out of him. 

 

Once he was settled in with his head on the pillows and a blanket pulled up to his chin he was finally able to look about the room while the others changed into their sleeping clothes.  It was then that he noticed that the room was huge.  It was huge enough to the California King size bed that he was currently occupying along with two full sized bunk beds with night stands and still have plenty of room to spare.  He didn’t realize what that meant until the other boys had said goodnight and reassured him that they would be there if he needed them.  The realization slowly came to him that the alphas would be sleeping in the same room as him.

 

Zayn didn’t sleep that night.  Too afraid of what the dark might bring.   

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for any weird spelling mistakes it is currently 12:15 AM and I am really tired. I have been looking at a computer screen literally all day and started seeing double hours ago, made it really hard to type this all out let me tell you!! 
> 
> Anyway as always thank you for reading. I love you all! Happy Birthday to me and feel free to leave comments or kudos. I love getting the notifications and reading all of your lovely thoughts!! My plan is to go back and edit the chapters that I have soon to make the parts where Zayn is hearing things in his head more clear. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this has been a long time coming...
> 
> Anyway, I had some comments about how it was difficult to tell when the voices were talking in Zayn's head... so they are now bolded. I am working on editing all the previous chapters, but so far am only on Chapter 4 in the editing process. When I am done I will update all the previous chapters at once. I have added in more details and dialog in the edits; I will let you all know when the edits are up so you can re-read them if you like!

When the alphas got up in the morning, Zayn pretended to still be asleep until Liam came over to him.  Liam didn’t want to startle the timid omega but he didn’t know how he was supposed to wake him.  He settled on kneeling down by the head of the bed and speaking softly to Zayn, “Z, it’s morning.  Time to get up, we need to get you showered and dressed.  Harry and Niall are making something for us for breakfast.”

 

Zayn opened his eyes slowly but was still startled when he saw Liam so close to him.  Zayn couldn’t help the slight gasp and flinch his body made on seeing the alpha in front of him, though he tried to play it off as a small stretch and a yawn.  Zayn knew though that Liam saw through the intended deception. 

 

Zayn hadn’t had any issues staying awake through the night; after all he had been kept up for much longer periods of time while doing far more strenuous activities like being whored out and with being in a world famous boy band.  Twenty-four hours was really nothing.  

 

“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up,” Liam stated again.  “Will you let me help you up?  I don’t want you to strain yourself trying but I also don’t want to hurt you further myself by trying to help.” 

 

Zayn eyed Liam apprehensively.  He noticed that the room was empty besides himself and the alpha, he was nervous to be alone in the room with Liam; what if Liam attacked him?  Zayn honestly didn’t think that he would be able to get away.  His body had stiffened through the night and his muscles were tense.  Add that to how big Liam was… his arms and legs, very defined abs, he could easily force himself on Zayn and there would be nothing that Zayn could do about it.  Even if he got a chance to call for help the only people that would hear him would be other alphas.  Not that anyone would ever help a defenseless omega like himself anyway, Zayn thought to himself.  The only thing that he could do at this point would be to try not to anger the alphas and do as they say. 

 

With that in mind, Zayn carefully pulled the blankets off himself and tried to bring his knees up so he could swing his legs off the bed.  He inhaled sharply at the intense pain that crashed through his body from his knees all the way up his spine.  It hadn’t hurt this bad the day before, but then the day before he had still had pain medicine running through his veins from the IV’s he had.  But, they were removed now and Zayn was feeling the true effects of the damage that had been done to his body.  Never the less, Zayn knew that he had to push through it. 

 

Liam watched carefully, hovering like a mother hen as Zayn closed his eyes in pain as he struggled to sit up and swing his legs out of bed.  Zayn was not making a lot of progress and Liam desperately wanted to help the frail omega in front of him, but every time he had made a move to try and help, fear shown out of dark honey colored eyes before him.  It was enough to make the alpha stop in his tracks.  Liam noticed that Zayn would not keep eye contact with him.

 

Liam hated what had been done to Zayn to make him be like this.  Zayn had always been seen as the shyest of the bunch of them, but Liam knew that the shy, quiet Zayn was only on display when they were surrounded by people that he was not comfortable with or didn’t know very well.  In interviews, on stage, being surrounded by fans; those were places that Zayn was not comfortable in his own skin.  He tried to stay in the background and hide himself behind the others not wanting to be put on the spot and say something embarrassing.  All the boys had done things to try to make him more comfortable; a hand on his back or a nudge of a shoulder.

 

Liam also knew that as soon as the doors closed and he was with his family, friends, or the closest people in their entourage, or of course with him and the other boys, Zayn blossomed.  Zayn would become a loud, hyperactive, terror.  You couldn’t leave Zayn and Louis in a room together for five minutes without one of two thinks happening… either you would hear something crash and shatter and both boys would come tearing out of the room to get as far away as possible, all the while destroying everything in their path, or more dangerous than the first, there would be no sound in the room.  If you poked your head in to see what was going on, both would look up innocently denying that they had been up to anything and without a doubt, sometime later that day some prank would be pulled.  From opening a door and getting a full frontal of flower blown on you from a fan that had been rigged to start when the door opened to various dairy products being put into your shoes and everything in between, you could bet that somewhere close, the dynamic duo would be cackling and hooting with laughter.  You couldn’t even be mad at the pair for long; they were too cute giggling in a rumpled mess on the floor, laughing too hard to be able to stand, eventually you would end up laughing if not for the stunt than because of their infectious laughter. 

 

It hurt Liam that after a while Zayn’s antics started to waiver, eventually stopping all together.  Zayn had also started being quiet when the band wasn’t working.  He started to prefer reading, drawing, listening to his headphones, or creeping on social media.  Zayn had even stopped going out with the lads, only coming out of his shell of solitude to watch films with the boys when he had to.  Zayn also seemed to talk less and less in interviews; even to the point where the interviewers either ignore him all together or ask him only the same simple questions that everyone had heard the answers too ages ago.  Liam had tried to direct questions to Zayn to answer, bring him into a conversation, and complimented him every chance he got; but it didn’t seem to help. 

 

Zayn was calmer and more reserved towards everyone, even the other boys.  Come to think of it… Zayn’s parents had come to every one of the shows while they were on X Factor, every one.  They had to go back the day after for the week but they always made it back to London in time for the show.  Zayn had called them every day when they were in Bradford.  When he had come back to London to meet the boys for rehearsals for the X Factor Tour, Zayn never called his parents.  Every once in a while he would get calls from them.  Yasser had later began calling Zayn more frequently, and each time Zayn would retreat to his bunk or hotel room and not come out for the rest of the night. They never came to see him again however, not in the four years since all of this began.  Zayn always said that they had work and couldn’t make it out when they were touring in Great Britton and it was completely out of the question to have them come with him on tour.  Zayn would always, always go back home to Bradford.  He always said it was to make up for his parents not being able to see him while he was working, even turning down day plans with any of the boys. 

 

Liam had thought at the time that Zayn was just getting quieter because of the stress of the job and preforming, even thinking that Zayn was just maturing faster than the rest of them; he was the second eldest behind Louis, but everyone knew that Louis was like Peter Pan and would never really grow up.  Now he knew better.  It broke Liam’s heart.  The alphas had never even took notice of the results of being in Bradford left on their friend.  They were all bad alphas.  They had a lot to make up to the tiny omega. 

 

Eventually Zayn managed get himself sat up with his feet firmly pressed to the floor.  He was unwilling to show how much that small action had taken out of him, biting his lip to keep in his cries of pain.  Zayn sat there for a couple of minutes not moving, gathering what little strength he had in his body.  Seeing this, Liam knelt down in front of Zayn and slowly extended his hand out to him, “Will you let me help you?”  Zayn slowly shook his head, still not making eye contact and trying not to tremble at how close the alpha was in front of him. 

 

Zayn carefully placed his hands on the edge of the bed and used it to push himself in a standing position.  He was able to keep it for about five seconds before the pain of his stiff and bruised muscles was too much and his body gave out.  Unfortunately he didn’t start to fall backwards onto the soft mattress; instead he fell forwards toward the cold unforgiving floor.  He never hit it however.  When Liam noticed that Zayn had lost his balance he had leapt forward and grabbed Zayn under his arms to hold him up, immediately whispering calming words to Zayn to stop his panic.  Liam was sure to hold Zayn up away from his body, knowing that the contact was terrifying the omega. 

 

“Shhhh baby, it’s okay.  I got you, I’m not going to let you fall.  Stay calm I don’t want you to get hurt.  It’s okay baby I won’t hurt you, I promise.  You know me, it’s just Liam.  I’m not going to touch you anywhere else unless you give me permission, okay?”  Zayn finally looked up at Liam with wide terrified eyes.  “It’s okay; just keep looking at me okay?  Look into my eyes… I won’t hurt you, it’s okay.  You can trust me,” Liam begged with nothing but sincerity on his face.  He kept his grip under Zayn’s arms as lose as he could; only gripping him hard enough to keep him standing.  “Keep looking into my eyes.  Please, please let me help you.  I’ll keep you at arm’s length, I’ll keep you safe, just please let me help you; I couldn’t bear to see you fall and hurt yourself.”  Finally Zayn gave a slight nod of his head.  Liam smiled in relief, “Good boy, that’s a good boy, just keep looking into my eyes okay?  We will move at your speed.  When you are ready just shuffle your feet forward, I’ll keep you balanced upright.  I won’t let you fall.”

 

Zayn couldn’t find a way out of this situation.  He knew that if he tried to move by himself that he would most surly fall.  Staying standing was sending waves of pain all through his body.  His stitches were slightly pulling and that was as uncomfortable as it was painful and his bruises were so sensitive to even the lightest pressure of his clothes.  He has no idea why he didn’t feel all of that in bed; maybe he just got used to it and moving was bringing it back into his focus?  It was the best idea he had.  With all that in mind, Zayn slowly shuffled his right foot forward as far as he could manage, which was only a few inches.  He gently shifted his weight to his right foot before moving his left a few inches farther.  Every time he tried to look away from Liam’s gentle brown eyes, Liam would calmly talk to him in hushed, gentle tones until Zayn looked at him again. 

 

Liam kept his promise and held him at arm’s length the whole way, never trying to pull Zayn’s body closer to him.  Zayn was grateful for that, his chest was tight enough at the little contact that the alpha had on him.  Anymore contact and he was sure that he would go into a full-fledged panic attack.  They slowly made their way out of the bedroom and into the loo.

 

When Zayn looked up and noticed Louis standing in-between the large walk-in shower on one side of the room and the ridiculously large tub that was set against the far wall with three sides open to approach it, he froze, his heartbeat immediately speeding up to thump hard inside his chest.  He hadn’t known that Louis would be in there.  Zayn was scared of all of the alphas, but especially Louis. 

 

Louis was blunt and full of sass, his comments able to cut through you and tear you apart without him even trying to.  Zayn remembers the times when he and Louis would run around and cause trouble; Louis’ comments hadn’t hurt Zayn then.  Even after the abuse started Zayn didn’t mind the sometimes harsh comments that flooded out of Louis’ mouth; it was just Louis being Louis.  He never really meant any real harm by it; at least when he was with the boys.  But Zayn remembers the fire that you could almost see radiating off of Louis when he was actually really mad.  It could be seen in his hard piercing eyes.  The blue would smolder and seem to smoke, turning the normally crystal clear eyes into a blue smoky haze.  Those eyes could burn right through a person’s soul.  His movements would become smoother and more controlled, his muscles bunching and coiling like a snake ready to strike out.  Louis’ whole body would be radiating a heat that dared anyone to come close enough to try and calm him down.  Nobody would; he was flat out scary. 

 

Zayn saw all of the signs when he laid his eyes on Louis.  Louis was mad.  Zayn could tell that he was trying to cover up his anger, but it was still there.  The last thing that Zayn wanted to do at this moment was be trapped in a room with an angry alpha, especially if that alpha was Louis. 

 

**He knows you lied to him all this time.  He will make you suffer.  He will never forgive your lies.  You think you felt pain before?  Just wait until that alpha time bomb gets his claws on you… he will rip you to pieces while having his way with you.  Just wait, you’ll see.**

 

Zayn’s body shuddered and panicked at the words the voices were feeding him.  He knew they were right, what was he going to do? 

 

Louis saw the look in Zayn’s eyes when they landed on him and he felt his heart sink at the fear he saw there mixed with pain.  Louis knew that his demeanor was not helping Zayn feel comfortable and knew that he had to do something.  Closing his eyes, Louis took a deep calming breath and counted to 10.  It wasn’t like he was really mad at Zayn anyway so there was no reason to be angry at this moment.  Well he was mad at Zayn, but only because he had kept so much from him for so long, but even then he was mad at the information that had been kept and not at Zayn himself.  After putting it into perspective in his mind, Louis was able to quickly calm down.  Those feelings were for another day… one where Zayn was not looking at him like he feared for his life. 

 

Zayn watched as Louis calmed himself down and was more than a little surprised when the first words that came out of Louis’ mouth were “Should I ready the shower or the bath?”

 

Liam looked at Zayn seriously and when it became apparent that he was not going to answer he turned to Louis.  “Bath I think.  He seems rather stiff, maybe the hot water will sooth him a little.”

 

“Alright then,” Louis set about drawing the water and of course had to add bubbles.  What was a bath without bubbles anyway?

 

Liam walked Zayn over to the sink to brush his teeth.  Once Zayn was finished, Liam set about getting him undressed.  Liam made Zayn do most of the work, only helping him when he got his head caught in the shirt and removing his socks for him.  Liam held a large fluffy towel in front of Zayn to ease his modesty, even if just a little.  Louis came over then and held the towel around Zayn while Liam walked him back towards the bath, gently helping him sit on the side of the tub to unwrap his bandages.  After all the bandages had been removed both alphas eased Zayn into the steaming bubbly water. 

 

Zayn felt the heat of the warm water engulf his aching body and immediately closed his eyes and let himself relax into it; momentarily forgetting the alphas that were in the room with him.

 

Liam and Louis let Zayn sit there relaxing in the hot water and bubbles for almost twenty minutes before they got up from the positions that they had taken on the floor on the other side of the room to watch him.  Zayn looked more peaceful in the tub than he had looked since he woke up in the hospital almost two days ago.  The only reason that they got up to disturb him is because he needed to be cleaned and out before the water got cold.  That and Harry and Niall would be upset if the breakfast that they were making went to waste. 

 

“Zayn, sweetie, we need to get you cleaned up okay?” Louis murmured so as not to frighten the omega.  As softly as it was spoken, Zayn still could not help but flinch when he was reminded that he was not alone in the room.  “Sorry babe didn’t mean to scare you.”  Zayn eyed Louis suspiciously as he and Liam slowly approached the tub.  “I’m gonna help you wash your hair and Payno is gonna help you wash the rest of you okay?” 

 

Zayn slowly nodded his head.  He was still frightened but the water was so relaxing and the bubbles were fun to wave his fingers through. 

 

Zayn allowed Louis to run shampoo through his hair and gently massage his scalp, being very careful of the lumps and scabs that his fingers found there.  The feeling was intoxicating; Zayn had never felt anything like it.  He quickly pushed out of his mind that this feeling was being caused by an alpha and just let himself enjoy the tingly feeling that was radiating from his head and neck causing some of his hairs to stand up on end.  Zayn felt as Louis rinsed his hair of the shampoo bubbles and then combed through his hair again with Zayn’s favorite tropical smelling conditioner.

 

While the conditioner set in Zayn’s hair, Louis maneuvered his small delicate hands lower down Zayn’s neck and onto his shoulders, massaging the muscles as he went.  He gently rubbed circles with his thumbs over the fan tailed bird at the base of Zayn’s neck, using his fingers to rub over the juncture of his neck and shoulders.  Louis could feel the knots of tension in the area and worked slowly and methodically to loosen them and smooth them out, humming quietly as he worked. 

 

Meanwhile, Liam had taken a soft loofa and body gel and worked it into a foamy lather before reaching his hand into the water and extracting Zayn’s foot and calf out to begin washing him.  Liam worked just as methodically as Louis, washing Zayn’s legs, arms and body, adding more body gel as it was washed away by the water in the tub.  Liam stayed away from the omega’s nether regions though for now, sensing that it would probably cause him to panic, and not wanting to rouse him from the relaxed state that he was now in. 

 

Finally after Louis had rinsed all the conditioner out of Zayn’s dark hair and managed to dry it with a hand towel, leaving it damp but not dripping, Liam caught Zayn’s attention.  “Zayn, love.  Need to get you washed… down there… can we help you stand so that we can wash it proper?”

 

Zayn nodded without thinking about it, too lost in his own peaceful thoughts to recognize the words being said to him completely.  Louis and Liam, standing at either side of the tub reached down grabbing the omega by the hand and under the arm and carefully stood him up.  “Zayn, do you want to do it or do you want us too?” Liam asked carefully.  Zayn hummed in response, not really hearing or answering the question. 

 

Liam looked to Louis and after a brief, non-verbal conversation; Liam shifted the omega so that he was supporting all of his weight while Louis reached for the loofa and lathered it up.  With one more look at Zayn and Liam, Louis gently began washing Zayn’s lower back and small cheeks, working his way around his small hips and then on to his flaccid penis. 

 

As soon as Zayn felt that contact he was brought out of his relaxed, trance like state and into one of pure terror.  Zayn threw himself out of the touch letting out a high pitched yelp, slipping in the tub and falling out of it.  The flailing omega managed to take the alpha behind him to the ground as well.  Liam would later say that even with his injuries and suffering from malnutrition, the omega was surprisingly strong, when in reality they already Liam only had a precarious hold on him when Zayn starting fighting due to him being wet and slippery from the water.  The only thing that saved Zayn from cracking his head on the tile floor was Liam desperately trying to cling to him and not let him slip out of his arms.  In doing so, Liam took the brunt of the fall, but his grip on the omega tightened greatly, scaring him more.  Zayn thrashed about in the alpha’s arms trying to get away.

 

“Zayn!” Louis cried out rushing over to the tangled, sudsy mess that was Liam and Zayn.   Getting down in front of Zayn, Louis tried to take some kind of control of the situation.  Grabbing Zayn’s face in both of his hands, he forced the omega to look at him.  “I’m sorry baby, I’m so sorry!  It’s okay, we aren’t going to hurt you!  Shhhh!  Baby it’s okay, it’s okay.

 

Zayn was still panicking though.  He couldn’t see Liam behind him but he could feel his hands.  Zayn’s muscles began coiling; bracing for an attack and tears began streaming from his eyes.  He was trapped.  How could he have been so stupid!?  There was no way out!  Zayn’s life didn’t flash before his eyes like he had always read in stories; which was probably a blessing considering how his last four years have been.  Zayn felt his lungs constricting, letting all the air out.  Zayn was a little more than shocked when he wasn’t able to breathe air back in.  He began gasping like a fish out of water not being able to fill his lungs.  He then realized that he was not going to die peacefully.  He was going to die with terror in his heart whether it be by the alphas or his body’s own stupid response to the panic running through his veins.  In blind fear Zayn began lashing out, no longer concerned with the pain that his bruises caused.  The only thing he can hear is the blood rushing through his ears and the voices in his head.

 

**You’re going to die you little cunt.  You deserve it.  You are worthless, trash, disgusting.  No one loves you.  No one ever will.  Filthy, nasty cock slut!  You were made to be fucked; that was your only purpose!  Always so needy for it!  Your shameful arse couldn’t get enough!  Always so wet!  You hardly needed to be touched to make you cum!  You should have been ashamed of yourself; cuming so easily!  You were a disappointment.  You should have fucking die with a cock knot in your wretched, needy arse and one down your sordid throat!**

 

Zayn closed his eyes against the onslaught of voices in his head, tearing him to pieces from the inside out.   He couldn’t hear himself gargling and choking as he tried to scream… couldn’t feel the desperate hands on his body or frantic sounds of their voices trying to calm him.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Liam and Louis felt the panic taking over Zayn.  They knew that the omega was panicking from the touch but knew that they had to get him under control.  Louis noticed first that Zayn couldn’t breathe even though his body was desperately trying to.  He immediately began yelling for Harry. 

 

Harry had suffered his entire life with asthma; surely he would know what to do.  Within seconds Louis heard footsteps running up the stairs and Harry burst into the room with Niall close on his heels.  “Harry!  He can’t breathe!” 

 

Harry quickly sunk to the floor, straddling Zayn’s thighs and holding his legs down by wrapping his ankles around the omega’s tiny shins, but still obviously being careful to not put too much of his weight on Zayn.  Harry clasped his hands on either side of the omega’s face to hold his head steady so he could look into his eyes.  Liam quickly backed away as Niall slid in behind Zayn to hold him in a sitting position with Zayn’s back to his chest.  Louis and Liam both backing away quickly across the room. 

 

“Zayn!  Zayn, look at me.  Focus on me!  It is okay.  You are safe,” Harry said calmly to the struggling omega.  Harry removed one of his hands from Zayn’s face and placed it lightly just above the omega’s belly button.  “Zayn, I need you to breathe.  Take a deep breath and move my hand when you breathe in.  You can do it.”  Zayn’s eyes still swam with terror, but he tried to do as Harry requested.  “Slow down. It’s okay, focus on your breathing.”

 

Zayn took one shaky breath, following immediately with another.  He was able to move Harry’s hand just a little.  “That’s it, that’s a good boy.  Just breathe.”  Harry continued to shower Zayn with encouragement as he slowly regained breathing normally.  “There you go.  How are you feeling now?” Harry asked. 

 

Zayn could only nod his head.  He didn’t know how he was feeling at this point, he wasn’t exactly calm but he wasn’t in the troughs of panic anymore either.  “Zayn, Niall is behind you okay?  I don’t think you saw him come in, just want you to know that he is there, you’re leaning against him,” Harry informed him.  Zayn couldn’t communicate it but he was glad that Harry had told him.  If Niall would have moved it would have scared him. 

 

Liam and Louis slowly approached the trio sitting on the floor.  Liam handed Harry the inhaler that Zayn had used the night before and Harry helped administer a dose to the omega.  “Sweetie, can we at least finish rinsing you off now?  You were covered in suds and if you don’t wash them off you’re going to get itchy,” Louis said cautiously.  Zayn thought about it for a few minutes, watching the three alphas that he could see in front of his while being acutely aware of Niall behind him. 

 

Louis was right, and his itching skin eventually got the better of him and nodded.  “All right sweetie, let’s get you up okay?” Harry asked, reaching out his hand to the omega but not grabbing his hand, waiting for Zayn to grab it first.  Louis stepped forward and mirrored Harry’s action while Niall shifted behind him.  Zayn reached out both hands and made contact with the alphas in front of him. 

 

Behind him, Niall stated “I’m going to grab you under your arms to help you up.  I won’t hurt you and I won’t let you fall.” 

 

Together the three alphas got Zayn standing and Liam again had a towel in his hands to hold in front of the omega.  Louis quietly spoke to Zayn saying, “I’m sorry.  I know that me washing you scared you.  I didn’t mean to.  Really I was only trying to help you get clean.  Can you forgive me?”  Zayn could tell by looking at him that Louis was telling the truth; in response he squeezed the hand that he was still holding, and nodded.

 

Louis and Liam assisted Zayn over to the shower to finish washing and rinsing.  This time they only helped the omega keep his balance on the slippery surface and allowed him to finish washing himself.  It made Zayn uncomfortable, touching himself there in front of the alphas, and it hurt, the area was very tender but he managed.  After, they helped him get dried off and provided a cream from the doctor to help with the chafing that he carefully applied while they looked away.  After he was done, Liam helped Zayn put pants on and then applied an antibiotic cream to the scratches that were all over Zayn’s body.  Liam then carefully wrapped Zayn’s ribs back up.  Miraculously there didn’t seem to be any more damage to his ribs after the fall and flailing that he had done.  When Zayn was finally dressed in joggers, fuzzy slippers and a cozy jumper, the three made their way downstairs to the kitchen where Harry and Niall had scampered off to too finish breakfast.  All five boys ate a liquid breakfast filled with calories. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The rest of the day went smoothly in comparison.  They spent it curled up in the living room watching movies and playing video games.  Liam got a call half way through the day from Paul and went outside to meet him.  Paul had made a trip back to London to a comic book store that Zayn and Liam both frequent as well as an art supply store next door.  The employees at both places had helped him pick out a stack of comics and art supplies that they knew Zayn would like.  Liam thanked Paul and brought the comics back inside and plopped them down next to Zayn where he was curled up in a blanket watching Louis and Niall battle it out in a game of FIFA. 

 

“Paul went and picked these up for you.  Thought you might like something to read or maybe draw.  Might help you get your mind off things for a bit.  You wanna try?” 

 

Zayn looked at the items that Liam had placed next to him, and gently ran his fingers over them before looking up at Liam and giving a small grin.  The first one that he did not have to force in a long time. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always... thank you for sticking with me. Hopefully there will be no more long waits from now on... at least not as long as this last wait. Anyway hope you enjoyed!! Until next time!!
> 
> P.S. I am so thrilled with how happy the boys seem now and am so amused by Zayn's tweeting!! Makes my heart melt!!


	14. Chapter 14

All of the boys were on edge for the rest of the week.  None of the alphas dared to push Zayn after what they had mentally dubbed “the bathing fiasco” not wishing to cause another panic attack in their omega.  They were very careful when they touched him, and only did it under necessary circumstances as he would still flinch whenever physical contact was made.  Zayn did allow them to help him bathe but they insisted that he wash his more private areas himself.

 

Each morning they would have to help him out of bed as the bruises would stiffen up his muscles and joints during the night, though as the week wore on he needed increasingly more help with walking.  The alphas were concerned as he seemed to be getting worse and not better.  There were deep purple bags under his eyes and he hardly seemed able to lift his feet; settling instead for shuffling them forward as at least one of the alphas helped him downstairs every morning.

 

Zayn was eating quite well considering that he could only have food in liquid form.  The alphas on the other hand were getting quite fed up with their new diet.  There were only so many different kinds of shakes that could be made that didn’t taste like shite and when they were eating at least six a day it got old fast.  Poor Niall was especially suffering… he missed his solid food.  Niall was convinced that if he kept this up for much longer that he himself would wither away to nothing.  Luckily Zayn never complained about his meals but whether it was because he really didn’t care or because he was so grateful to be getting actual food was undetermined. 

 

The alphas noticed three main issues with their omega over the course of the week:

 

  1. Zayn wasn’t gaining weight. He wasn’t losing weight, he was staying stagnant, but his body weight was too low to be healthy, especially when his body was trying to recover from such a traumatic experience. The sustenance that he was being given did not seem to give him the energy that it should even though Harry always made sure that the best and most nutritious smoothies and shakes were given to Zayn.

  2. Zayn hadn’t spoken a word to anyone since leaving the hospital. He rarely made eye contact and would only communicate by nodding or shaking his head. Zayn never indicated that he wanted to know what happened to his parents and the boys had yet to broach the subject, not wanting to upset him and further stall his healing process. They knew that this was a dangerous course of action and that it could blow up in their faces… but they couldn’t care enough about those consequences yet.

  3. Lastly, the bruises that littered Zayn’s body were not healing as the alphas thought that they should. The ones on his back and lower legs were healing well, the black and blue fading to yellows and greens. The bruises on his arms, torso, thighs, and genitals were not healing as well. The outside of the damaged skin was healing but the middle of the bruised areas was still dark and angry looking. They didn’t know what could be causing this. Every morning when they would help Zayn into the bath they also noticed that his penis was red and dry, but not erect, the skin looked aggravated. His balls were swollen and looked very painful. The boys made sure that Zayn was putting the cream from the hospital on himself after he bathed but it didn’t seem to be helping. Whenever one of the boys would ask Zayn about it he would resolutely ignore them until they gave up.

 

The boys kept a close eye on Zayn and these issues and since Dr. Grey was due to arrive at the house the next afternoon they figured that they would wait and discuss their observations with her then. They were very impressed that after the first day, he didn’t even attempt to struggle against their wishes of feeding himself. Instead he allowed all of the alphas to do that for him; though it was obvious that he was most comfortable when it was Niall.

 

Most of their days were spent watching the telly, playing video games or writing new music. Zayn never participated in the games, only watching the other boys from the spot on the couch that he had claimed as his own. Zayn spent a lot of time reading the books and comics that Paul had gotten for him. He also was spending parts of the days surrounded by his art supplies, making little doodles, but the boys knew that his heart wasn’t really in it.

 




~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Unbeknownst to the other boys, Zayn had been keeping his promise to himself that he made the first night at the house.  Each night when they went to bed, Zayn would lie awake and pretend to be asleep, still too scared of being surrounded by the alphas to allow himself to let his guard down.  The first couple of nights it hadn’t been too hard to stay awake; he was use to staying up for hours on end due to his work and home life, it was nothing new, but the following nights after that were proving to be more and more difficult.  He had taken to pinching at his bruises for long periods of time finding that the pain would keep him awake.  When that started waning he had to find another method to stay awake and alert.  Pinching and twisting at his penis and balls seemed to do the trick, although he had to be careful not to do it too hard that the pain became too much and he pass out.  It was a fine line but one that he was learning. 

 

On top of keeping himself awake, he found that the self-harm was an effective punishment to himself.  The voices were continuing to sound at all hours of the day, reminding him of what a horrible person that he was.  He used the term “person” to describe himself lightly in his inner monologs.  At this point he felt like he was less than a person, he didn’t feel human.  He was a waste of space.  Trash.  Worthless.  Then to top it all off, his friends (even though he was scared of them, he still considered the alphas to be his friends) were risking their careers with him.  The tour should have been starting and instead of living their dreams, preforming to their fans, and living on top of the world… they were stuck here with a filthy omega cock slut.

 

He didn’t understand why they were there.  Liam could easily take over his lyrics, his voice was magical.  They didn’t need him for the band to be successful, he didn’t even know why he was put in the band to begin with… he was just a filler anyway.  Sure he could hit some high notes but so could Liam, and even though Harry’s voice had deepened considerably since their X-Factor days, he still had an impressive range.  Louis was the backbone of the whole deal and Niall… well Niall had the voice that gave the whole group that rounded edge.  Zayn was replaceable.  The longer the boys stayed with him the more confused he became. 

 

On top of that… why was security still outside?  Management should be pulling out everyone, including the boys.  They had to be losing money on ticket sales on top of what they had to have lost in album sales when it became public knowledge that he was an omega.  Management should have had the other boys out doing damage control for this whole ordeal. 

 

Zayn might have attempted to voice these concerns, despite his fear of everyone around him if he hadn’t been more scared of what was going to happen when management finally did pull everyone away.  He knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was going to be sold again.  It was just a matter of time.  But, if he could prolong it then it was worth it. 

 

The thought had crossed Zayn’s mind several times since leaving the hospital of the possibility that his friends would purchase time to service him from management… or even from his parents.  Every time the thoughts arose he was sent into a near state of panic, so he tried to save those times for nighttime when he had a better chance of hiding it from the boys.  Zayn didn’t know how he could handle it if the boys bought him… He loved them so much, he had always wished that they would love him back the way that he loved them but always knew that it was a dream that would never come true.  He was and omega and they were alphas.  Biologically they were meant to fuck him and nothing else.  His heart ached when he thought of how they would fuck him… not sweet and gentle and tender like in his fantasies, but rough and hard and violent like all his past experiences.  If that happened Zayn knew that it would break the tender hold that he had on his sanity and that if it happened, he would have no choice but to take matters in his own hands.  Zayn knew that he would not be able to live with his dreams being shattered like that. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

On the morning before Dr. Grey was scheduled to arrive, Niall went to rouse Zayn.  Niall was alarmed to see how deep the bags were under his friend’s eyes, and even more worried when he had to practically carry Zayn to the shower to get him cleaned up.  The previous day a bath stool had been moved into the large shower for Zayn to sit on while he was getting cleaned up.  The process of taking a shower or bath seemed to exhaust Zayn more each day and the alphas figured that it would be easier and faster to get him in and out of the shower rather than the bath.  Though today it didn’t seem to do much to help as Niall had to help support Zayn so that he didn’t fall off the stool for the duration of the shower.  It was a show of how tired and weak Zayn was that he hardly flinched at the extra contact that Niall was making with his body. 

 

By the time that Niall had gotten Zayn cleaned and dressed, he was very eager to get him downstairs with food so that he could rest properly and maybe gain a little of his strength back. 

 

“Zayn, ready to head downstairs?” Niall asked quietly dipping his head to attempt to make eye contact with the omega in front of him.  Zayn’s only response was a minute nod of his head.  “Okay, you seem pretty tired this morning; do you want me to carry you?”  At that Zayn hastily shook his head.  Helping him bathe and dress and walk was one thing but to be completely at the alphas mercy… he couldn’t handle that no matter how exhausted he felt.  Niall sucked his lip between his teeth at Zayn’s response but knew that he had to follow the omega’s request least they lose what little bit of trust that they may have earned over the past week. 

 

Niall got Zayn up on his feet and brought one of the omega’s arms up around his shoulders and grasping his hand, while his other arm slinked around Zayn’s waist to hold him up.  Niall was supporting more of Zayn’s weight than Zayn was, but because Zayn was still so thin it was not difficult.  When they got to the top of the stairway, Niall made sure that Zayn’s free hand was on the rail before saying “Okay babe, we are going to take this nice and slow… one step at a time.  Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”

 

Zayn couldn’t tell Niall but he was feeling more light-headed than usual and looking down the stairway was not helping.  He had never been good with heights, but right now the image of the decent they were about to take was swimming in his vision.  He had never experienced vertigo, but in the back of his mind he thought that this might be it.  By the time the pair was on the second step down Zayn had to squeeze his eyes shut and promptly felt himself start to sway.  Somehow while taking the next step down, Zayn’s foot got caught on the hem of Niall’s pajama pants.  In a second the pair was falling. 

 

In his panic Zayn’s hand slipped from the hand rail and he began flailing.  Niall attempted to gain control of the omega to stop the fall or the very least pull Zayn behind him to break the fall but his attempts were useless.  The pair tumbled down the stairs in a mess of arms and legs, yelling as they crashed to the floor at the bottom of the steps. 

 

Zayn had hit the bottom first, landing face down with a gasp.  Niall landed on top of the omega with a loud grunt that sounded just beside Zayn’s ear.  Zayn heard voices yelling but he couldn’t make out what they were saying.  He knew that these voices were real… he could always make out every word of the ones that tormented him inside his mind.  He could feel thundering footsteps through the floorboards under his chest and knew that others were running towards the commotion. 

 

Everything was too much.  Zayn lost all sense of reality. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Harry and Louis were in the kitchen when they heard a noise that sounded like bowling balls being thrown down the stairs.  Without ever making eye contact with each other, both alphas took off running towards the sound. 

 

Liam was in the downstairs bathroom down the hall when he heard the noise.  Hastily tucking himself back into his pants, he ran out the door, not even bothering to do up his jeans. 

 

“What happened!?”

 

“Is anyone hurt!?”

 

“Zayn!  Niall!  Are you okay!?”

 

The three alphas entered the foyer in rapid succession, running into each other in their haste to see what had happened.  They were stunned by the sight and sounds that they were met with. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Niall had apparently hit his head when he fell because there was a large lump on his temple that was quickly turning a dark purple.  He was currently sprawled out face down on top of Zayn and looked to have passed out briefly and was just coming out of it.  Little moans and grunts were coming from him as he tried to get his bearings about him.  Niall looked more than a little dazed and confused about what happened and why he was at the bottom of the stair case with the omega underneath him. 

 

In contrast, Zayn was in a fully-fledged state of panic once again.

 

Zayn was screaming with tears quickly making their way down his face.  His face had lost all color except for his cheeks which were a startling shade of red.  Zayn’s eyes were wild, losing their natural shade of honey-brown and being taken over by the black of his pupil as his eyes widened in abject fear.  Zayn was caught in between nature’s “fight or flight” mode.  One look at him and the three alphas could tell that he wanted to escape as far away from his position as he possibly could, but was being pinned down by Niall’s weight on top of him.  It seemed that the only option that Zayn could come up with was to fight off the intrusive body that had him held to the ground. 

 

Zayn was trying to roll out from under the alpha on top of him with little success.  When he realized that his efforts were failing he began clawing at anything that he could reach, all the while thrashing and emitting ear-piercing screams of terror. 

 

It only took a few more seconds for Niall to snap out of it and try to get off the omega, but try as he might, he couldn’t find enough purchase to be able to roll to the side and onto the floor.  The pairs legs were still tangled together making moving apart even more difficult.  Niall began to panic knowing that he was hurting his omega and not being able to fix it. 

 

Suddenly Niall felt an arm grip him across his chest and a hand grab him by the back of his pants and haul him up and off the struggling omega.  “Oh my god, oh my god!  I didn’t mean to!  I swear I didn’t!  Is he okay?  Zayn!  Are you hurt! Oh my god, Zayn I’m so sorry!”  Niall struggled against Liam’s hold on him after he was lifted off the terrified omega. 

 

As soon as he was free of Niall’s weight, Zayn was able to pull himself up on his hands and knees and scurried away towards the nearest exit, which happened to be the front door.  Seeing where Zayn was heading and knowing that it would not help the situation if Zayn got that door opened and was able to smell the alpha security personnel stationed out front, Harry quickly intercepted him.  Finding his exit blocked Zayn quickly changed course and backed himself into the far corner of the foyer. 

 

Zayn’s chest was heaving and tears were still streaming down his face, he had stopped screaming but he was by no means calm.  Louis watched Zayn’s eyes dart between Harry blocking the door, himself, and Liam still holding a struggling and hysterical Niall in his arms.  Louis watched as Zayn curled up in a ball as tight as he could and saw his fingers latch onto the skin of his ankle, harshly grabbing it in a violent pinch and twisting, knuckles turning white with the pressure that he was exhorting on his own skin. 

 

Harry began walking slowly towards Zayn with his hands held out, palms up, while making soothing noises, attempting to look as unimposing as possible so as to not stress the omega out anymore.  As Harry got closer Louis watched both of Zayn’s hands.  The hand on his ankle continued to twist and pull at the skin there, his other hand made its way to his clavicle and began pinching and digging at the skin there as well. 

 

“Harry!  Stop.  Back away from him, don’t go near him,” Louis commanded. 

 

Harry ceased his slow walk toward the frightened omega and turned his head to look at Louis, furrowing his brow in confusion as to why Louis was demanding that he stop trying to ease the omega’s fears.  Louis made eye contact and motioned for Harry to come back and stand with him with a flick of his head.  Unknowing what the other alpha was thinking, but utterly trusting him, Harry did as instructed and slowly backed away from Zayn until he was standing next to Louis. 

 

Liam was still attempting in vain to console Niall, whose face was beet red and tear stained.  Louis quickly made his way to Niall and knelt down in front of him.  “Niall, Niall look at me.”  When Niall continued to struggle in his attempt to get to Zayn to comfort him, Louis lost patients and snapped his fingers in front of his face before harshly grabbing the blonde alphas chin between his fingers.  “Niall!”

 

Finally Niall’s eyes focused on the blue eyed alpha in front of him.  “I didn’t mean to!  We tripped that is all I swear!  You know I would never intentionally hurt him!  Or scare him!  You know that!  Please, please say you believe me!” Niall sobbed.

 

“Of course I believe you!  We all do.  You would sooner gouge out your own eyes than to damage a single hair on Zayn’s head.  But I need you to calm yourself.  Zayn needs you to calm yourself.  You are no help to him in this state and you know that,” Louis said sternly.  Niall immediately stopped struggling against Liam wiped his face off with the sleeve of his shirt, nodding his head.  “There you go.  That’s good.  Now we have an issue to deal with.  I know what is wrong with Zayn,” he said slowly turning his head to face the cowering omega. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Watching Zayn’s movements after the fall, Louis’ mind had flown through all the circumstances of the past week.  The bruises, all within the omega’s reach, that were not healing equally, how Zayn continued to look more tired with less energy as time went on, the bathing fiasco; it all made sense now.  Now he had to come up with a way to fix it. 

 

As soon as the words were out of Louis’ mouth, Liam turned to him with wide eyes, “You do?”

 

“Yes.”

 

A few seconds passed where Louis made no move to elaborate on his epiphany and just eyed Zayn thoughtfully.  When it became apparent that Louis wasn’t going to continue without further prompting Harry spoke up, “Care to share with the rest of the class?”

 

Louis blinked his eyes and looked away from Zayn and back to his fellow alphas.  “He is terrified of alphas.  Us included.  Look at him.  I am willing to bet that when he felt Niall land on top of him that he thought that Niall was attacking him.”

 

“But Niall would never...” Harry started saying but was interrupted by Louis.

 

“I know that,” he said quickly.  “You know that, Niall and Liam know that as well.  But Zayn doesn’t.  He doesn’t trust any of us.  He has been getting more and more exhausted since we got here.  Look at the bags under his eyes!  He hasn’t slept a wink since we got him out of the hospital.  I am willing to bet that he has been waiting for us to attack him.”

 

“What?”

 

“No.”

 

“If he is hasn’t, how is he staying awake, his body would have shut itself down by now if he was trying to stay awake all on his own,” Liam reasoned.

 

Louis shook his head and turned back to face Zayn, who was still wrapped around himself eyeing the alphas suspiciously.  “Look at his hands.  The bruises that he can’t reach easily, on his back and his lower legs when he is pretending to be sleeping are healing like they should.  The bruises that he can reach… they are the ones that are still black and blue.” 

 

Liam’s jaw visibly dropped as he realized what Louis was implying.  Harry’s eyes popped open and he shook his head as he said “No, that can’t be.”  Niall stayed silent but renewed tears began streaking down his cheeks. 

 

“Yes it can.  That cream we have been having him use should have been helping; instead it has only been getting worse.  I’m surprised that he can even bare to have pants on under his trackies, no matter how loose they are.”

 

Harry couldn’t stand there anymore.  He knew that what Louis was saying was true.  Zayn was hurting himself; he was witnessing it with his own eyes how Zayn’s blunt fingernails were digging into his own skin, leaving marks.  Harry hastily took a step forward in the omega’s direction crying out, “Zayn, stop that!” before Louis stopped him with a hand on his arm.  Harry immediately turned on the elder alpha, baring his teeth and emitting a low growl deep in his chest.  “WHAT!?  He has to stop!”

 

“Calm down!” Louis ordered, “You’re scaring him even more!”  Harry turned around to see that Louis was in fact right.  At Harry’s movements and outburst, Zayn had shrunk even further in on himself, pressing back into the corner like he was hoping that he could disappear into the walls. 

 

Harry instantly settled himself, saying quietly “I’m sorry Zayn.  I didn’t mean to scare you.  I’m not mad, please stop hurting yourself.”

 

“This whole time he has been scared of us?  You really think that he thinks that we would hurt him?” Niall asked solemnly. 

 

Louis sighed and motioned the other alphas to follow him farther back from the trembling omega; sadness laced his voice as he said “Yeah, I think he does.  He has been taught that alphas will hurt him, rape him.  Think about what his journal said… he thinks that he is going to be sold.  He has been waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

 

“It doesn’t make sense though,” Liam finally spoke up.  “If he were scared of us, hurting himself to stay awake because he thought that we were going to turn on him, and we just figured it out, why is he still watching us like that?”  At Niall’s confused look, Liam elaborated, “He is freaking out, obviously, but he was like that before Louis said anything.  Since Louis voiced his thoughts, nothing in his demeanor has changed.  When he found out that we knew what had happened to him in the hospital his panic increased exponentially; shouldn’t we at least hear a change in his heartbeat now?”

 

“You’re right Li, but I think that the issue is that right now he has no idea what we are saying,” Louis whispered.  “Right now he is more of a scared wild animal than he is human.”  

 

“That is a horrible thing to say!” Niall accused.

 

“You know I don’t mean anything by it, but it’s true.  Look in his eyes.  He doesn’t even look like he recognizes us at all,” Louis stated matter-of-factly. 

 

Liam pursed his lips and stared into the omega’s eyes from across the foyer.  Zayn looked like he was hyper alert despite the fatigue that was obvious in all of his features.  After the alphas had backed off a little more Zayn’s fingers had stilled in their self-harm and his knuckles were no longer white with tension.  Liam saw no recognition in his eyes, they were empty and dead.  His body still radiated terror from every fiber.

 

“I think Louis is right.  The question is how do we back him down from this state of mind?  If we approach him it will only make it worse.  We can’t let him keep hurting himself,” Liam said.

 

With tears still drying on his face, Niall took a shaky breath.  “I have an idea.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading. Your comments and continued support mean so much to me!! I think I have put a pause on the revisions of this story for now... I feel like I'm on a roll with continuing it and don't want to screw up my streak with going back to fix previous chapters. But don't worry I will eventually!!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***ATTENTION***
> 
> This is not my best work. I will some time in the future finish editing this, and I will probably add more detail to this. Right now, my heart is breaking. If you couldn't tell, I am a Zain girl, first and foremost, have been since the beginning. So today was really hard for me. Writing this story is now really hard, especially because of how much shit I have put him though in this story. 
> 
> Basically I rushed through this because I felt that my readers in the fandom could use something to look forward to. Please forgive the crappy-ness of it for that reason. I know how badly I am taking this news and I know how badly you probably are too. I feel like the world has stopped turning. 
> 
> For my readers I hope that this chapter, bad as it may be, can maybe help ease the pain of this retched day at least a little bit. 
> 
> All the love.

He watched the four alphas carefully.  He couldn’t smell them but he knew they were alphas.  He could tell by the way they held themselves.  There was an air of confidence surrounding them.  They kept looking at him, every once in a while one of them would gesture towards him.  He couldn’t tell what they were saying; not because they were talking too low, but because it all sounded like static. 

 

He was unsure how long he sat curled up against the wall.  It felt like hours but it could have only been minutes.  He could only focus on the “here and now”.  There was an ache in his head where it had hit a step when he had slipped.  He could still feel the heat on his back from where the blonde alpha had landed on top of him at the bottom of the stairs.  His skin was still crawling from the contact.  He didn’t like being touched, he didn’t like being helped and assisted in everything.  He had been on his own for so long, having to take care of himself, he didn’t need anyone else to help him now. 

 

He was so tired.  He could feel his eyes drooping and his vision blurring.  He felt a fog slowly making its way through his mind.  He was finding it hard to concentrate on anything.  He moved his right hand to the inside of his left bicep and grabbed a bit of his skin there; harshly pinching it and twisting it between his fingers.  With the pain he was able to focus in time to see the blonde alpha raise his hands up in what was sure to be a nonthreatening manner, and approach him slowly.  His eyes never left the alpha, and his hand never stopped abusing his sensitive skin, but he saw the other three alphas slowly back up and go into the kitchen. 

 

He watched as the blonde alpha bent down and sat on his bum, moving to curl his legs under himself about ten feet away.  The alpha’s mouth was moving and he could hear sounds, knew that the alpha was talking to him… but he couldn’t understand the words. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“Do you think Niall’s idea will work?” Liam asked uncertainty clear in his voice. 

 

“Well it makes sense; he has had so little control over everything in his life.  I mean he didn’t even get to choose to come here with us, we made that decision for him,” Harry stated.  He was feeling quite guilty about that right now if he was being honest with himself.  They had made some serious assumptions about what Zain would want.  The truth was that they were alphas and Zain was an omega who had spent years being abused by alphas in the most horrendous ways possible. 

 

Louis looked at his two fellow alphas and said with conviction, “We are going to let him make this decision.  I have faith that he will choose us.  He just needs time.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Niall was sat in front of Zain, being careful to give him enough space to hopefully not feel smothered.  As sure as he had tried to seem when telling the other boys that Zain needed to choose to come to them, that he would only feel safe and secure with them when it had been him that made the decision, now Niall wasn’t so sure.  How was he going to convince Zain to trust him, to trust them?  He had to.  He loved this boy more than anything.

 

Niall decided to just talk to Zain to start off with.  He didn’t say anything specific or deep, deciding to just focus on the tone of his voice, trying to be soothing.  Niall looked in Zain’s eyes and could see his fear, his confusion of what was happening, but mostly he saw how tired he was.  His boy was exhausted, down to his very bones.  How had they not seen how far down Zain had dropped since they had him in their care?  Niall wasn’t a fool, he had known that Zain was struggling… but looking at him now… it was so much more intense.  Niall felt a pang in his heart at the thought but continued his ministration. 

 

Niall sat there on the floor in front of Zain, cooing softly at him for about 20 minutes.  He couldn’t tell if what he was doing was helping the omega at all, but at least he didn’t seem to get worse.  His hands had stopped attacking how own skin, but they stayed poised to continue again if the omega felt threatened.  Finally Niall decided that he would try to move closer.  Slowly and carefully Niall scooted closer to the omega, all the while murmuring encouraging words.  Niall stopped moving forward when he was about five feet away.  The alpha took it as a good sign when the omega only watched him with skeptical eyes and did not begin ravishing his own skin again. 

 

Niall slowly held out his hand, palm up and began encouraging Zain to take his hand when he was ready and that everything was okay. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The blonde alpha had moved closer and now had his hand reached out towards him.  He was still making sounds; it still mostly sounded like static but every so often an actual word could be made out through the white noise.  He heard “okay,” “ready,” “safe.”  The longer he listened the more words he could make out.  They were all said in the same soothing tone.  As he could make out more words that the alpha was saying, the words seemed to wash over him like a gentle caress.  The smooth tones calming his crawling skin, making him feel like he was being covered in downy feathers.  It was soft, and warm and comforting.  Zain, he remembered Zain, that was his name, felt his heartrate slowing down and felt the screaming in his mind subsiding. 

 

The alpha, Niall, wasn’t pushing him.  Zain didn’t think that Niall was going to come any closer to him; he kind of wanted him to.  Zain could feel himself relaxing.  Maybe Niall was safe.  He didn’t know where these thoughts were coming from, he remembered how scared he had been of all four of the alphas since he had been brought here, but right now, it was like another part of his mind was taking over.  Maybe it was his omega. 

 

That was it.  It was his omega.  Zain’s omega was craving the support and comfort of Niall’s alpha.  Zain had thought that his omega was gone; destroyed a long time ago by the terror that he had been through, but no, here it was, showing itself to Zain. 

 

Zain didn’t know what to do.  He knew what he wanted to do… or at least what his omega wanted him to do.  That was to go to Niall.  Take the comfort that the alpha would provide.  He had never received protection from an alpha before and didn’t know what it really felt like but he had imagined.  He had dreamed of it.  He never thought that he would ever actually get the opportunity to get it.  Until now that is. 

 

**It’s a trick!  He wants you to let your guard down then he will strike!**

 

Zain heard the voice in his mind yell the words, more angry than it has been in a long time, but before he could try to process it his omega had shot it down.  No matter what Yaser had told his son to convince him that omegas were lesser humans, barley human beings at all, Zain’s omega new the truth.  The omega knew that it was meant to be cherished and loved.  It was only now, for whatever reason being allowed to come forth to try and convince Zain that it was right and the voices and his memories were wrong. 

 

Zain wanted to believe that Niall wouldn’t hurt him, but it was so hard to reconcile what his mind was trying to tell him with everything that he had been taught.  It was time for him to either stay stagnate or take a leap of faith.   

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

After some more calming words Niall saw the first sign of recognition flash in the omega’s eyes.  All of Niall’s attempts at calming Zain to the point of coherence were shot to hell in the next minute though. 

 

Several things happened at once.  Paul came rushing through the door at that moment.  He was clearly frantic, “What happened?” he hollered panic clear in his voice.  Within seconds of the door opening, Paul’s scent made its way to Zain.  Zain smelling an alphas scent for the first time since he was in the hospital was overcome with fear and quickly scrambled backwards to get as far away from the door, and Paul, as possible.  Hearing the commotion, Louis, Liam and Harry came rushing out of the kitchen.

 

Quickly assessing the situation, the boys positioned themselves directly in front of Zain, blocking him from Paul and providing a barrier.  Louis was on point with both Harry and Liam flanking him; moments later, Niall joined them, standing beside Louis. 

 

“Paul.  What are you doing!?  You’re scaring Zain!” Louis said, keeping his protective stance. 

 

“Preston called me.  They heard a crash and yelling coming from inside the house,” Paul explained, still looking frantic and confused. 

 

Niall was still trying to understand what Paul was saying when he felt something softly pull at his pant leg.  Confused he looked back and was shocked to see Zain’s hand clutching his clothing.  Niall looked from Zain’s hand to his eyes.  Fear still shown in Zain’s eyes; but it was no longer fear of Niall, it was of the situation, and Niall was able to tell the difference.  Niall felt his heart clench when Zain uttered his first word since leaving the hospital.

 

“Ni.”

 

The fear and panic that could be heard in that one syllable was tangible.  The omega was terrified of the scents that were assaulting him now.  Zain knew that Niall was an alpha in that moment, but he was still seeking solace in him despite that. 

 

Niall quickly abandoned his post in front of Zain to drop down to his side allowing the omega to latch onto him, wrapping his arms around the small alpha seeking comfort and protection. 

 

“I had told all the security not to enter the house under any circumstances, that only I could enter, Preston called me and I came as fast as I could.  None of you were answering your phones,” Paul further explained.  “Is he alright?”

 

Harry took his eyes off Paul for the first time and focused on the omega who appeared to be trying to physically mold himself to the blonde alpha.  Niall for his part looked shocked, but was handling it well, focusing on reassuring Zain.  “Yeah Paul, I think he is.  He and Niall fell down the stairs.  But I think everything is going to be okay now,” Harry tried to reassure their dedicated head of security who obviously rushed in thinking that one of them was being murdered or hurt.  The things the five of them put him through… it’s a wonder he hadn’t had a heart attack.

 

“I’m sorry Paul, we all left our phones upstairs.  One of us should have had ours on us.  I’m really sorry that we didn’t answer.  I didn’t even think about security hearing the commotion outside,” Liam explained while looking ashamed of himself.  Liam always seemed to be the one apologizing for the group as a whole, he really was Daddy Direction. 

 

Meanwhile Niall was whispering in Zain’s ear trying to calm him down, knowing that the omega had to have been panicking if he was choosing to hold tight to Niall in his fear.  “It’s okay Zain.  We have you.  We won’t ever let anyone hurt you.  We will keep you safe.  I promise you.  You are so safe.”

 

“Okay Paul, you know we love you, but we have everything under control here.  I think it is time for you to leave.  I can’t have our omega any more upset than he already is,” Louis stated, taking his role as the group leader and running with it. 

 

Paul nodded.  “Zain,” he said speaking directly to the omega, “I’m sorry for frightening you.  That was not my intent.  I hope you can forgive me.  Lads?  Call me if you need anything.”  Paul slowly began backing out of the house. 

 

After Paul exited the house, the other three alphas dropped down to the floor around Zain and Niall.  As the alphas got closer Zain visibly trembled and shrunk down further into Niall’s embrace. 

 

“Hey, Zain, it’s okay.  They won’t hurt you.  It’s just the lads, just me,” Niall reassured.  Niall could see Zain’s eyes drooping again and quickly grabbed the omega’s wrists as he saw them sneaking to pinch his tender skin again.  “No, no don’t do that.  Please.  How about we go into the living room huh?  Let you rest a bit.  How does that sound?”

 

It took a few more minutes and a lot more whispered words of comfort and encouragement before he was able to get Zain to agree.  After that, Niall found that Zain was far too tired and shaken to be able to really move by himself.  Niall got Zain on his feet then bent down and picked the tiny omega up with an arm under his bum with the other around his back.  Zain for his part wrapped his arms and legs around the alpha and held on, only whimpering a little bit at the touch.  He couldn’t trust Niall or the other alphas yet, but a seed had been planted in his mind, now it only needed time and nurturing to grow.

 

Niall moved to the couch and laid Zain out with him.  Zain placed his head on Niall’s chest with one arm around his tummy, cuddling into him utterly and completely.  Zain fell asleep with to the sound of Niall’s heart beating in his chest, with the other boys slowly filtering into the room and sitting around them. 

 

It was in that peaceful moment that the alphas realized that no matter what, they would all be okay.  Zain had finally chosen them.  No matter what happened tomorrow, they knew they would prevail. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was the shortest so far, I am sorry, but like I said before I wanted to get it out to you. 
> 
> As I am sure that you noticed, I started spelling Zain with an I and not a Y. Today Zayn returned to his life as Zain and I want to respect his wish and decision. This is the only way I can think of to do it. I hope that it does not turn any of you off. I will not change any of the previous chapters in this way because today and right now this is so significant in a way that it really wasn't to this fandom before. 
> 
> I had so much more planned for this story; but right now I don't know if I should continue it or if I should just end it now. So that decision I leave to you, my avid readers. Do you want this story to end on a semi high note of Zain opening up to the boys, letting them close, even if it is just Niall, knowing that if he let Niall in now, that he will let the others in eventually? Or do you want the full story that I had planned out since the beginning? If you choose the second option, know that there is more angst and hurt for Zain and the boys. The road will be bumpy and they will have to work through some pretty tough times. But I promise you that it will end with happiness and closure. 
> 
> The decision is up to you. Please comment me and let me know. If this is the end; I want to say thank you for all your love and support. I wish you good luck in recovering from the hurt that today brought, and I encourage you to still be there for Niall, Harry, Liam and Louis. No matter what was happening behind closed doors with the band, they are dealing with a loss. I love Zain and I wish him the best, but I will still be here for the other boys as well. They are all beautiful people, inside and out. I wish that circumstances would have been different so that this didn't have to happen... 
> 
> I am signing off now. We will find our way "Through the Dark."


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I will be continuing this story. I am so sorry for the long wait... I have lots of reasons for taking so long that I will not bore you with right now. This chapter is not as long as I wanted it... but I have to get ready for work and I wanted to get it posted. (That's right! I found a job!! I work at a bakery! Kudos to anyone who read that in Harry's voice... I know I did!!)
> 
> Anyway I also finished the edits to all previous chapters and posted them... there is something like 5500 words added... not a whole lot of changes mostly just more details. If I get the energy to do it again I may add more dialog in the future. Who knows. 
> 
> Hopefully the edits and this new chapter will placate you all for now! On a good note I have a large chunk of a future chapter already written... but it won't come into play for a few more chapters... but still... it's gonna be good!! Can't wait for you to read it! 
> 
> As always tell me what you think and enjoy! Thank you so much for reading! I love you all!!

Zain slept soundly for the rest of the day, never once stirring.  In fact at one point Harry became so worried of the stillness that had taken over the omega in Niall’s arms that he approached the couple to ensure that he was still breathing. 

 

Around lunch time the alphas remembered that Zain had not yet eaten anything that day.  They quietly discussed the options of letting him sleep or waking him up to feed him, which only ended when Louis reasoned, “He has been eating regularly and we know he hasn’t been sleeping.  Let him sleep now and we will make sure he eats when he wakes.  If we wake him now, who knows when he will fall asleep again?”  With that the matter was settled. 

 

When it started getting dark the boys decided that it was about time to move to the bed.  After some quiet brainstorming on how to move the omega without jostling him enough to wake him up, Niall carefully moved his hands to the back of Zain’s thighs and pulled him onto his lap, while Liam gently moved Zain’s torso onto the smaller alpha’s chest.  From there the other three alphas slowly pulled Niall to a standing position, allowing Niall to grip the omega thoroughly with one hand under his bum and the other across his back, being mindful of the bruises that lie underneath his clothing.  Once hoisted in Niall’s arms, Zain appeared to snuggle into the alpha and grip him tighter with his arms and legs wrapped around his body.  At the act, the alphas could not help but coo quietly with fondness.  Harry, Liam, and Louis surrounded Niall as he carried the sleeping omega up the stairs to catch the pair in case they should trip. 

 

When they made it to the bed, Niall climbed into the middle, still holding Zain while Harry and Liam each grabbed an arm and leg of the omega, letting Louis support Zain’s neck and head as they lowered him to the soft mattress and disentangled him from their blonde counterpart.  As Niall moved away, a slight frown appeared on Zain’s face and he whined quietly in the back of his throat. 

 

All the boys looked to Zain for a few moments before turning their attention to Niall.  Niall didn’t know what to do; in his sleep, Zain was clearly displeased at having lost contact with the blonde but Niall didn’t know if he should stay in the same bed as the omega.  What would happen when Zain woke up?  He certainly did not want to scare the omega by being too close when his mind was still foggy with sleep.  Laying together on the couch was one thing; it was neutral territory.  This bed on the other hand was Zain’s.  As much as he craved the attention and affection from the omega, Niall did not want to overstep his bounds.  Niall looked to the other alphas for direction.

 

“Go ahead Ni,” Liam said, gesturing with his hands, indicating that Niall should get back into bed with the tiny omega. 

 

Niall still looked unsure, glancing back and forth between the bed and the three other alphas surrounding it. 

 

“What’s wrong Nialler?  Don’t you want to be with him?” Harry asked.  The alphas were confused why Niall was hesitating, any of them would do almost anything to have the attention of the omega. 

 

“Yeah, I do.  It’s just that,” Niall started to explain then stopped biting his lip and looking back at the sleeping omega who still had a slight pout on his face. 

 

“Go on, what is it?”  Louis said.

 

“It’s just that I feel bad.”

 

Now the other three alphas had frowns decorating their faces.  “What do you mean you feel bad?  Feel bad about what?”  Liam questioned.

 

“We should all be with him, not just me.  I don’t want you all to be mad at me for being able to cuddle him.  I know you all want to hold him too,” Niall finally confessed then sunk his teeth into his bottom lip as he looked at each of the others in turn. 

 

“Oh Ni,” Louis cooed.  “We just want him to be comfortable, you know that; and if he is only comfortable with just you right now that is okay.”

 

“Yeah Nialler,” Liam said, “We will all have our time with him eventually.  We are all going by his pace, not ours; and right now his pace is you.  Don’t worry about us.”  As Liam finished talking he came over to the dyed blonde alpha and pulled him into a hug, closely followed by Louis and Harry. 

 

After hugging the other three alphas, Niall nodded and turned back to the sleeping omega.  He took a deep breath and appeared to be psyching himself up for what he was about to do.  Louis couldn’t help but smirk to himself; for an alpha, Niall was sometimes too cute for his own good.   Finally after only another moment of hesitation, Niall carefully laid himself down next to Zain and pulled the duvet up to their chests.  Niall was far enough away from the omega so that he wasn’t touching him, but close enough to where he could feel Zain’s body heat.  Apparently in his sleep Zain could feel Niall’s as well because he soon rolled over and slung his arm over the alpha’s stomach, nuzzling his face into Niall’s t-shirt clad chest before sighing contentedly and continuing his slumber.  After initially stiffening at the contact it took Niall only a few moments to relax again and quickly fell asleep with the scent of the omega at his side, knowing that Zain was safe and content. 

 

Liam, Louis and Harry watched the scene with fond amusement dancing in their eyes before they decided that none of them wanted to sleep by themselves that night, all three climbing into Niall’s abandoned bed for the night.  There they were surrounded by their scents and Niall’s.  The only thing missing was Zain.  Sure they could smell him from across the room, but it wasn’t the same as having his scent near them in sleep.  It only took a few moments for Harry to get frustrated enough to climb back out of bed and go into the loo.  When Harry came back he was carrying the jumper that Zain had been wearing the day before and brought it back to the bed with him, Louis and Liam smiling at him when they caught the scent.  The three of them together, along with the scents of the omega and their fellow alpha, the three band mates drifted off in a peaceful sleep of tangled limbs. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Morning came quickly for the four alphas.  Today was the day that Dr. Gray was coming to check up on Zain.  Liam, Louis and Harry crawled out of bed and slunk over to the large bed that their bandmates were occupying to find Niall already awake and fondly watching the sleeping omega in his arms.  Zain’s hand was still clutched tightly in Niall’s sleep shirt, looking for all the world that he never wanted to let go.  The sight was heartwarming to all the alphas.

 

Liam and Louis decided to go downstairs and start breakfast.  They hoped that after the examination that Dr. Gray would say that Zain could start eating solid foods, so hopefully this would be the last smoothie breakfast for a long while.  Harry stayed with Niall to rouse Zain and get him cleaned up and dressed. 

 

Niall moved his hand up to slowly brush his fingers through Zain’s hair.  It was getting so long; his hair always seeming to grow faster than the others, even Harry’s who was quickly starting to look like a baby Tarzan with his long curly locks.  “Zainie, it is time to get up, wake up sleeping beauty.”

 

When Zain still didn’t stir, Harry reached out a hand and began softly stroking Zain’s face.  His facial hair had grown into a full beard from not being shaved in almost three weeks.  Harry’s gentle touches must have tickled though because it caused Zain to bring a hand up and start itching at the hair underneath his chin.  Zain sighed sleepily before snuggling back into the alpha that he was currently using as a pillow. 

 

Harry and Niall shared a warm smile before looking back at the adorable omega.  They wished that they didn’t have to wake him and could let him stay in this peaceful state, but they had a schedule to keep.  Resigning themselves to what must be done, both alphas again attempted to wake the slumbering omega. 

 

“Zain, sweetheart, we need you to get up now,” Niall whispered into the top of Zain’s head while continuing to play with his hair.  Finally Zain began to stir again and blinked open his eyes.  While Zain was waking up and before he had time to process where he was and who was with him, Harry began speaking again.

 

“Zain, it’s Harry.  Don’t be scared okay?  It is just me and Niall here with you.  Liam and Louis are downstairs.  Dr. Gray will be coming soon for your checkup.  Niall is right beside you too okay?”

 

Harry could see Zain taking in the information and processing it.  When he noticed that there was a body under his head he visibly stiffened before forcing himself to relax.  It was obvious that he was still scared but as the events of the last 24 hours went through his mind he remembered that he had chosen to cuddle with Niall and it was easier to calm himself down. 

 

Even so, Zain found himself cowering away from the larger alpha in favor of being closer to the blonde.  Harry was intimidating to the small omega still.  Zain _knew_ that Harry wouldn’t hurt him.  He remembers how gentle and caring Harry is.  Harry is nice and sweet and kind to everyone he meets, even if they are rude or harsh to him, but even though Zain _knew this_ , he couldn’t ignore what was right before his eyes. 

 

Harry is slim but well-muscled, even if his coordination is about as good as a baby giraffe.  His hands are large and he has several rings on his fingers.  His left arm is covered in tattoos; most of them random and kind of stupid, but just the fact that he has them is intimidating.  Which that in itself is stupid!  Zain is covered in tattoos himself; he shouldn’t be intimidated by someone else having tattoos when he himself has almost as many, most of them larger and more hardcore than those on the large alpha in front of him.  Honestly, Harry has a bible on his forearm… not nearly as hardcore as Zain’s own tiger or snake.  Granted they both have block heart tattoos… but that is not the point.  The point is that compared to Niall, Harry could do some serious damage. 

 

Not that Niall couldn’t take Zain down on his own, because he could; probably easily.  No.  No, Zain had to stop thinking like that.  He had to gain control of his mind.  He had to trust his omega.  Hopefully it would not let him down. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It took a while but Niall and Harry were able to get Zain out of bed and in the bath to soak in the bubbly water.  They thought that it would do more to ease the tension that they could feel in his muscles as they helped him up.  Zain was clearly more comfortable with Niall than he was Harry, side-eyeing him and leaning more heavily on the smaller alpha. 

 

Once the omega was seated in the tub, Harry set about shampooing his hair while Niall helped to wash his body.  As Harry was rinsing the bubbles out of the omega’s shaggy raven hair he noticed that Zain was carefully itching at his beard again. 

 

Harry gave it a few moments and Zain continued to pick at and rub the hair growing on his neck and cheeks.  He almost looked unaware that he was doing it.  Harry finally came over to the side of the tub so that he was able to look Zain in the eyes as he spoke to him.

 

“Zain, your beard is quite long and itchy, would you like to shave?”

 

Zain appeared slightly startled as he realized that he had been itching for a while.  He thought it over carefully before nodding his head. 

 

“Okay,” Harry said as he got up to get a razor and shaving cream.  He came back a few moments later with the items.  “Your hands are little unsteady, you have been shaking and trembling a lot.  May I help you?  I swear, I will be really careful.  I just don’t want you to nick yourself.”

 

A look of uncertainty shown in Zain’s eyes as he thought over Harry’s request; Zain wanted no part of the alpha coming near him with a sharp object, but his omega was telling him that it was okay.  After a few heavy moments where Zain was clearly battling his internal thoughts he finally nodded his head in agreement. 

 

The smile that lit up Harry’s face was radiant, both of his dimples proudly on display at Zain’s small show of trust.  Harry felt a heat radiating out of his chest at Zain’s acceptance.  Niall, who had been watching the exchange also grinned, that was a huge step for their little omega. 

 

Harry carefully lathered up Zain’s face and neck with the cream and gently tilted his head back.  As he brought the razor to Zain’s neck to start the first swipe, Zain’s hand shot out and reached for Niall.  Without even having to think about it Niall grabbed the omega’s hand in both of his own and felt him squeeze a death grip on his fingers.  Niall began to murmur gentle words at the omega to keep him calm, every so often being interrupted by Harry softly instructing Zain to move slightly to get a different area of his face.  After about ten minutes, Harry declared that Zain’s face was smooth as a baby’s bottom.

 

Niall and Harry helped Zain out of the tub and assisted as he got dressed in one of his graphic tees that was still way to large on him along with some baggy tracky bottoms and fuzzy socks.  They managed to make it down the stairs with no issues.  Zain was moving much better on his own this morning due to actually sleeping for the first time in a week.  It is amazing what a little sleep will do for a body.  Together the two alphas and omega entered the kitchen where their two other alpha bandmates were waiting with Dr. Gray. 

~*~*~*~*~*~


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is this!? Another chapter? In a week? Who am I and what have I done with the real me? LOL! I don't know but here it is!! I hope you enjoy!!

Zayn had gone back into the one spare bedroom that was on the first floor of the house with Dr. Gray for his checkup.  Dr. Gray had asked him if he wanted one or more of the other boys to be in the room with him during the exam but the omega had refused.  He had had quite enough of being naked with the alphas around and did not want to be poked and prodded in front of them as well. 

 

Zayn had been worried that he would upset the alphas by denying them to accompany him but instead they had insisted that it was his decision and that it was okay that he wanted to be alone.  They had all wished him good luck and Niall had tentatively stepped forward and held his arms open for a hug.  Niall did not close the distance between himself and the omega; he had waited, for about 30 long seconds for the omega to process his silent request.  Understanding shown in Zayn’s eyes when he recognized what the blonde alpha was asking of him; but still he didn’t move forward.  Another 20 seconds passed while Zayn internally debated what he should do.  The alphas and Dr. Gray watched in silence.  Finally, when Niall was starting to think that Zayn would not come to him, the omega slowly stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the blonde alpha.  Niall squeezed him gently and whispered in his ear, “It is going to be okay, you are so brave.  You can do this.  Just know that if you need us, we will be right out here.”  Zayn had nodded silently and followed the omega doctor to the room where she shut the door behind him. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

The two omegas were in the room for just over three hours.  The alphas had spent the whole time sitting and pacing around the living room, with the exception of Harry who had finally been so frustrated with the tension in the room that he had retreated to the kitchen and began methodically cleaning everything in sight. 

 

When the omegas finally emerged, Dr. Gray informed the alphas that Zayn was okay to begin eating solid foods, but that he should start off with soft foods for a few days just as a precaution.  Zayn looked like the exam had taken a lot out of him so Dr. Gray advised that he lay down to rest for a bit.  Knowing that Zayn had not eaten yet and that he must be hungry Harry immediately went back to the kitchen to start some pancakes and eggs for all of them even though it was almost lunchtime.  Meanwhile Niall and Liam took Zayn to the living room where he went straight to the large plush chair and curled up in it.  Liam handed him a throw pillow while Niall covered him in a fluffy blanket.  Zayn closed his eyes and within moments his breathing had evened out as he drifted to sleep. 

 

The alphas and Dr. Gray all went into the kitchen to discuss how the exam had went.  Zayn’s stitches had healed well.  The ones inside his body had healed and the stitches themselves had dissolved completely.  The ones on the outside had also healed; those were not dissolvable and she had removed them during the examination.  Now there were only the tiny holes where the stitches themselves had been; those would heal completely in a couple of days. 

 

Dr. Gray agreed with Louis theory of Zayn self-harming.  She had checked all of Zayn’s bruises and determined that there was no permanent damage done by his self-harm; as long as the alphas could keep him from pinching at his skin they would heal normally.  The bruises that Zayn had not been aggravating were well on their way to healing, much better than what they had been the last time that she had seen them.  They were still sore and would be for a few more weeks, but he was on the right track. 

 

The doctor had also checked the sensitive skin on the omega’s penis and ball sack.  He still had some severe chafing and swelling there that had not healed properly and was worse than before due to the self-harm.  Dr. Gray wrote another prescription for a stronger anti-inflammatory cream as well as a pill to take for a week to help the swelling go down.  The stronger medicines coupled with Zayn no longer aggravating the skin should let the damaged skin heal before any permanent damage could be caused.  Zayn’s ribs were healing as well, but it would be a couple more weeks of having them bandaged before they would be completely stable. 

 

Lastly on the physical aspect of the exam was the bite that the omega had received from one of the alpha twins.  It still looked fresh and hideous, which was to be expected due to the kind of bite and how it was administered to him.  A bite from one alpha could not be healed by another and since the alpha who had administered the bite was dead there was no way for it to be healed faster.  The bite had been kept wrapped with gauze and ointment in an attempt to help it heal faster.  Dr. Gray advised that the bandage should be left off for a few hours a day so that it could breath.  That wound would take months to heal completely no matter what they did. 

 

Next, Dr. Gray went on to discuss her opinion on Zayn’s psychological state and how he was coping mentally with what had happened to him.  Zayn had refused to do little more than answer yes or no questions.  Anytime Dr. Gray had asked him to explain what he was feeling he would clam up and refuse eye contact, not saying another word until she moved on to another question.  Based on what little new information that she could gather from the omega and what she already knew, she thought that the best way to get Zayn to open up would be for the alphas to gain his trust.  Being bombarded by questions from a virtual stranger would not ease the omega’s mind. 

 

Dr. Gray asked the alphas if they had talked to the omega about what had happened and if they had told him what had happened to his parents and his alpha assailants.  When all of the alphas looked away, not wanting to make eye contact, she got her answer.  Louis finally explained, “We were going to, that first night at the hospital after he had woken up, but as soon as he found out that we had seen the alphas and knew what had happened… he broke down.  He was in no state to hear any more details or to be asked to give more details.  After that… we didn’t want to push it.  We hoped that when he was ready that he would come to us and ask.  That was probably stupid and presumptuous.  Zayn has always been very private and reserved; really no reason to think that this situation would be different.”

 

Liam added, “It was so hard seeing him fall apart at the seams like that.  I didn’t want to be the cause of that happening again.” 

 

Dr. Gray nodded as she listened to their explanation.  “That is reasonable.  I understand that, but you also have to consider that Zayn’s past experiences are festering inside him right now.  He is no doubt wondering why this happened to him and being confused at the complete one eighty that his life has encountered.  Ever since he presented he has been told that omegas are worthless, good for nothing but sex, he has been sold, beaten and raped more times than we could ever count.  That was his reality.  That was the truth in his mind… is still the truth in his mind.  Now though, he has been taken away from that life.  He is being shown affection and kindness and being cared for by the very members of the gender that he has been abused by for so long.  My bet is that he does not understand what is happening, he is probably waiting for the abuse to start again.  If that is true, he is waiting for you four, his best friends, to turn on him.  It is my opinion that you need to talk to him.  It is okay if he breaks down.  It is what he needs.  Think of it as a poison in his body that he needs to get out.  Talking, finally opening up and even crying over it will help him express and rid his body of the toxins.  I can’t tell you what to do, you four are his alphas, but I think what is best is if you open up the lines of communication to him and encourage him to express himself.  I think if you do that, it will be a lot easier to gain his trust.”

 

Soon after, Dr. Gray left the house saying that she would be back the same time the next week as long as there weren’t any issues.  Harry was almost done with their meal anyway.  The alphas thought over the doctor’s words as they set the table at the breakfast nook.  They all realized that what the omega doctor had said made sense.  They knew it would be hard and would cause their omega emotional pain, but hopefully in the long run it would help him. 

 

“Okay, today has been a hard day for Zayn.  I think that we should get him fed then let him rest.  He still needs to recuperate from not sleeping for a week,” Louis said.  “I say we give him the rest of the day and tomorrow to relax and rest.  We can do everything that we can to make him as comfortable as possible around all of us during that time.  Then we will talk to him after breakfast the day after tomorrow.”

 

“I think that’s a good idea,” Liam agreed.  “He just started opening up to Niall yesterday, I think that we need a couple more days to try to build a little more trust, now that it seems like he might be a little more open to it.”

 

“Okay, it’s settled then,” Harry nodded.  “Now let’s go get our omega fed, he has to be hungry.”

 

“Hell yes!!” Niall exclaimed.  “I don’t ever want to see another smoothie or milkshake for the rest of my life!” 

 

The outburst was just so Niall that the other three alphas couldn’t help but burst out laughing. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“Zayn, sweetheart, it’s time to get up.”  Niall was met with only silence, the omega never even stirring.  Niall tries again, this time lightly brushing his thumb over the newly bare skin of the omega’s cheek and jaw bone.  “Z?  Harry made breakfast.”

 

Finally Zayn began to show signs of life by burying his face further into the pillow and blankets that he was curled in.  “At least some things never change,” Liam giggled lightly.  “Our Zaynster never wants to get outta bed.” 

 

Niall grinned up at the brown-eyed alpha standing behind Zayn from his position kneeling in front of the chair.  “Yeah it’s a relief isn’t it?  Dunno what I would of done had he started getting up like a normal person.”  As he said it the grin on his face turned to a frown and his eyes became sad. 

 

“What’s wrong Nialler?”

 

“It’s just that, it should have been a clue.  We should have known something was wrong,” Niall said as his eyes became watery.

 

Liam seeing the distress written all over Niall’s face quickly walked around the chair and pulled the smaller alpha to his feet.  Taking Niall’s face in his hands, he looked him straight in the eye.  “What should have been a clue?”

 

“Zayn.  He was getting up better in the mornings.  He didn’t fight to stay asleep for longer.  That is so out of character for him.  We are his best mates!  We should have seen it!  We should have known that something was not right!  We should have known that he wasn’t really sleeping!”  Niall was getting more and more worked up by the second, his tears finally falling down his face.  Liam wrapped his arms around the alpha that was on the borderline of hysteria.  “We are bad alphas!  He will never choose us!  And he shouldn’t!  We are bad alphas!  We never should have let any of this happen to him!” 

 

As Niall’s voice continued to get louder he brought Niall over to the couch and sat him down in order to try to calm him.  Zayn was luckily still asleep, but Louis and Harry heard Niall’s raised voice and rushed in to see what was happening.  They found Niall clutching onto Liam, his face red and blotchy and covered in tears.  They quickly rushed forward to help Liam try to calm the alpha. 

 

Liam knew that this wasn’t just about Zayn being able to fake sleeping for a week.  This was Niall breaking down about everything.  This was about the alphas not knowing that their omega was hurting… not just for days or weeks, but for years. 

 

“Now you listen to me Niall James Horan,” Liam said firmly.  “There is nothing that we can do about the past now.  What’s done is done.  Yes, we made some mistakes, and those mistakes caused our omega to be hurt.  That is bad; I am not denying that, none of us would.  But I will tell you this… we are going to make it up to him.  We are going to be the best damn alphas that we can be so that we can care for our omega properly.  We may have not been the best alphas, but we are far from bad alphas.  The bad alphas are the ones that raped and abused him.  That is a bad alpha, don’t you forget that.” 

 

Liam made Niall look him in the eyes as he continued, “I know that he will choose us.  He loves us.  He wrote about how much he loves us and how much he wished that we would love him back.  His greatest wish was that we would love him and be kind to him and treat him well.  He will get his wish, we all love him more than life itself.  Now all we have to do is get him to believe that; and the only way we can do that is to prove it to him.  Now I don’t know about you but I will do everything in my power to prove my love for our little omega.  Will you?”

 

Niall nodded his head vigorously while tears continued to fall and said, “Yes!  Yes, I will do anything and everything.  I will never let him down again.”

 

“Good.  Now calm yourself.  You will be no good for him if you are in a panic.”

 

Louis and Harry didn’t know exactly what had set off Niall’s panicked outburst, but gathered the general idea behind it from Liam’s small lecture.  Both voiced their agreements with Liam’s words while continuing to offer their comfort.  It took a few moments for Niall to get himself back under control, and when he did he thanked his friends and moved out of their embrace. 

 

This time Louis approached the still sleeping omega.  Really, that boy could sleep through a hurricane.  Louis gently removed the blanket draped over the sleeping boy and ran his fingers through the dark hair at the crown of his head.  “C’mon Zayn, breakfast is waiting.” 

 

Zayn again tried to bury his face in the pillow and mumbled softly, “Sleepy.”

 

Louis smiled.  “I know darling, but we will let you go back to sleep after you eat okay?  The doctor said that you can have solid foods now… no more milkshakes,” he finished in a sing-song voice. 

 

At that Zayn picked his head up.  He hadn’t voiced it but he was getting pretty sick of the liquid diet.  He was still really tired but he supposed that he could get up for a few minutes to fill his belly before going back to sleep again.  With the help of Louis and Harry, Zayn was brought to his feet and settled in the breakfast nook between Niall and Liam. 

 

Zayn picked up his fork and used it to cut off a piece of pancake that had been covered in butter and maple syrup.  His coordination in his sleepy state was not the best so it took him longer than normal to complete the feat.  If he hadn’t been so drowsy he would have been more embarrassed when the alphas giggled at him when he tried to bring the food to his mouth, but instead only succeeded in jabbing himself in the face with it, leaving a smear of sticky syrup across his cheek. 

 

After enjoying the amusing look of tired disappointment on the omega’s face, Liam took pity on him and gently turned him to lean his back against Niall’s side before picking up the omega’s discarded fork and bringing it to his lips.  Zayn wanted to protest being fed like a child again but it felt so good to have the warmth of Niall’s body heat against his back and he was so tired.  He closed his eyes and allowed Liam to finish feeding him without complaint.  Liam would quietly instruct the omega to open his mouth when there was another bite of pancakes or egg ready for him.  At one point, Liam wondered if Zayn had fallen asleep again and was only chewing and swallowing the food by pure muscle memory. 

 

When finally they were done, and Zayn had softly whispered that he was full he had eaten two pancakes, a large helping of eggs and a glass of orange juice.  Louis brought over a damp flannel and gave it to Liam to wipe off the sticky syrup from Zayn’s lips and cheek.  Zayn sighed in contentment and slid farther down in his seat.  Harry hid a giggle behind his hand.  The omega was just so cute when he was sleepy and full. 

 

“All right Little One, let’s get you laid down so you can rest some more,” Liam said smiling.  Zayn hummed a little in agreement. 

 

Liam leaned down and grasped the omega under his knees and around his shoulders, easily lifting him out of the nook and into his arms.  When Zayn felt the loss of the heat on his back from Niall’s body he let out a whine low in his chest and attempted to turn back around to look at the blonde.  “Ni,” he whispered sleepily while making weak grabby hands at the alpha. 

 

Niall had been silent all through the meal, still upset from earlier.  He knew that his eyes were still bloodshot and his face blotchy from crying, and had attempted to keep his face away from the omega so that he would not see and worry.  It seemed now to be in vain as the omega was too sleepy to notice anyway.  Seeing the omega turn to him how and reach out for him while calling him by his nickname, the alpha could not help but break out in a wide grin, his chest swelling with happiness.  “I’m coming sweetheart,” he said.

 

When they got to the living room Zayn lazily pointed to the chair that he was in before and Liam took him to it and gently placed him on the plush cushions.  Before curling up as he was before, Zayn again made grabby hands for Niall and when he stepped forward Zayn grabbed his hand and pulled the small alpha down beside him.  With the comforting touch of an alpha, Zayn’s omega was pacified and he quickly curled up on the chair with his head pillowed on Niall’s thigh and was almost instantly asleep, every once in a while letting out tiny snores. 

 

After watching the omega sleep for a few minutes, Liam, Louis and Harry retreated back onto the kitchen to clean up.  When they were done, Harry grabbed Love Actually off the DVD shelf and popped it in the player.  The three alphas then all took places on the floor in front of the chair that Niall and Zayn were in, wanting to be as close to the sleeping omega as possible.  By the time the movie was over Harry had his head leaning on Zayn’s bent knee, Louis was rubbing his thumb over the small screw tattoo on the omega’s ankle that matched the one on his own, along with Liam and Harry’s.  Liam was running his fingers idly through Zayn’s shaggy hair, playing with the fringe that fell over his forehead. 

 

It was a good way to spend the afternoon.  After waking Zayn up again a few hours later for a dinner of creamy chicken alfredo, Zayn was tucked into bed, again with Niall at his side and the other three alphas snuggled together in Niall’s bed. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The next day was spent much the same way, except Zayn didn’t sleep the whole day away.  Breakfast was an assortment of fresh fruits and croissants.  Zayn was more alert during this meal and slowly fed himself.  He was feeling a little self-conscious about the day before.  He remembered how clingy he was.  He didn’t know what had come over him… he was just so tired and he had wanted Niall with him.

 

Zayn was surprised that Niall had not seemed to care and had in fact seemed pleased that the omega had wanted him.  Zayn didn’t know what that meant, but it had felt good, comforting, so he was going to try to do it again today. 

 

This time they settled on the couch with Zayn sandwiched between Niall and Harry.  Zayn lay across Niall’s lap and Liam and Louis again sat on the floor in front of the sofa.  After a few minutes, Harry had gently pulled the omega’s feet into his lap and began massaging them.  At first fear had gripped the tiny omega, but a few comforting whispered words from the blonde and Zayn was relaxing into the touch. 

 

Harry worked meticulously at the omega’s feet, massaging his toes and digging his thumbs gently into his arches, being careful of the faint bruises that still lingered on the skin there.

 

The boys had put in Cheaper by the Dozen to watch and about half way through Louis thought that he had heard a strange noise.  He looked around and as his eyes settled on Zayn his brow furrowed.  Louis looked at Niall whispering, “Is he…?”

 

“Yeah,” Niall said.  Harry was nodding with a smile so big his dimples were like craters in his cheeks. 

 

Liam turned and looked with a questioning look on his face.  “What are you lads talking about?”

 

In answer Louis grabbed Liam’s wrist and gently placed it on Zayn’s sternum.  Liam’s eyes widened when he felt the slight vibrations radiating from the center of the omega’s chest.  “He’s purring!” Liam said, louder than he intended, Harry hushing him so as to not wake up the sleeping omega.  The four alphas just smiled at one another before turning their attention back to the omega.  When he was awake Zayn was still timid around them, though he was improving, but right now, in his sleep, he trusted them.  Omegas only purr when they felt safe.  None of them had ever heard such a beautiful sound in their lives. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

This was the day that they had agreed to talk to Zayn.  The alphas were nervous of how this was going to play out.  They did not want to distress the omega, but knew that this was a conversation that they would have to have.  They were also relieved that today they were going to be able to tell Zayn that they love him and that they wanted him to be theirs. 

 

Niall and Louis got Zayn up and bathed.  It seemed to be going easier now, Zayn a little more relaxed and less likely to panic.  He was still nervous with Louis there.  In his mind Louis was unpredictable, but Niall was there too and he was beginning to think that Niall would not hurt him. 

 

They went downstairs for breakfast; Zayn was able to walk down the steps by himself, with Louis and Niall on either side of him ready to catch him should he stumble.  Harry with the help of Liam had made fruit kabobs with crepes.  The five boys had a good breakfast full of conversations and laughs.  Zayn didn’t contribute to the conversations but was caught on more than one occasion giggling into his hand with his nose scrunched up and his eyes crinkled. 

 

After breakfast the alphas sent the omega into the living room while they cleaned up the dishes.  They then slowly made their way into the living room and looked at the omega who was sitting cross legged on the couch flipping through channels on the telly.  They all took a few moments to just observe him, knowing that for him this day was about to take a turn for the worse.  Eventually they moved around the couch and into Zayn’s line of sight. 

 

Louis took a deep breath before saying, “Zayn, baby, we need to talk to you.”

 

Zayn looked up at the alphas then, seeing their somber faces, he felt his chest tighten in anxiety and his breath caught in his chest. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the next few chapters outlined... this outlining thing is new for me... but this past week I have just been slammed with inspiration and I know that if I don't write it down I will lose it all! There is still so much more to this story I hope you all are not getting bored yet!! 
> 
> Love you and thanks for reading!! Let me know what you think, I love hearing from you. 
> 
> PS: Yes, I changed Zain back to Zayn. It may stay like that I may go back... I don't know yet... with everything that is going on... it just helps me deal.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kind messages, you are all the best. I really want to respond to you all but I am so easily distracted... I have been reading some good fics and that always slows down my writing process... anyway I hope you enjoy!!

Liam saw the panic rising in Zayn and immediately stepped forward with his hands up, palms facing the omega in an attempt at a non-threatening manner.  “Sweetie, it is okay… everything is fine.  You are fine.”  As Liam spoke he continued to move forward until he was standing right in front of the little omega.  Zayn stared at the large alpha and as he approached he pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them protectively. 

 

Liam dropped to his knees in front of the couch so that Zayn had to look down to see him.  Liam was trying to make himself as least intimidating as possible.  Looking down on the alpha would make the omega feel like he had more power and control in the conversation. 

 

“Z I want you to take a deep breath okay?  C’mon breathe with me.  Deep breath in and hold it,” Liam took a deep breath, holding it while he watched the omega’s chest rise as he took a breath.  It wasn’t as big as the alphas, but it was a breath.  “Okay now let it out slowly,” Liam said while he exhaled, the omega copying his actions.  “That’s it, good boy, you are doing so well.  Again.” 

 

The alpha walked the omega through the breathing process five more times before he had calmed enough to start talking again.  “Zayn, I need you to listen because this is important okay?”  Liam waited until Zayn nodded his head in acknowledgement.  “Good lad.  I want you to understand that you are completely safe.  No one in this room or even on this property would ever hurt you or put you in danger.  We only want to help you get better.  We need to talk to you, we need to explain some things and it is going to be hard and painful but it has to be done, and we are going to need you to talk to us too okay?”

 

At that the omega seemed to shrink into himself.  Seeing this, Liam countered, “Okay we can work up to that.”  Zayn seemed to relax the tiniest bit.  “We will talk first okay?  We just need you to stay calm.  Do you think you can do that?”  Zayn nodded meekly. 

 

Harry stepped forward slowly and sat on the floor next to Liam while Louis and Niall took positions on either side of the tiny ball of an omega, making sure to leave enough distance between their bodies so that the omega wouldn’t panic. 

 

 When everyone was seated all the alphas turned and looked at Louis.  “Oi, I guess I’m up now right lads?” he scoffed. 

 

Harry let a small grin slide onto his face, “You are the leader.”  Liam and Niall let out nervous giggles and even Zayn allowed the slightest ghost of a smile linger on his lips.

 

Louis sighs and shakes his head before he turns his attention to Zayn.  “Okay Zayn.  When you were in the hospital we told you that we knew what had happened and that we knew that you were an omega.”  Zayn lowered his head and his cheeks warmed in shame.  Yes he remembered that, and he remembered having the first of many breakdowns in the aftermath.  “Hey, no, it’s okay Z,” Louis said as he reached out a hand gently and lifted the omega’s chin so that he could see his face.  “There is nothing to be ashamed of.  You did nothing wrong.”

 

Once the blush faded from the omega’s face Louis continued, “Zayn, we know that what those fucking alphas did to you… we know that it wasn’t the first time that it had happened.”  Zayn’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open before he violently shook his head.  “Sweetie, stop.  Stop okay?  You are safe; there is nothing to worry about anymore.”

 

Zayn still looked terrified and Louis thought to himself that he might as well get on with it; rip it off fast like a Band-Aid, figuratively speaking.  “Zayn, when you were in the hospital we read your journal. 

 

Zayn stopped and stared at Louis before turning to each of the other’s faces in turn.  Within seconds his face turned as white as a sheet and his mouth gapped open.  All the alphas knew without a shadow of a doubt that a panic attack was barreling at them like a freight train and there was nothing that they could do to stop it. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The only thing that Zayn could focus on was that the boys had read his journal.  It was his private journal!  They had no right!  He put everything in there!  He wrote about being serviced, he wrote about feeling useless and worthless.  He put all his deepest fears in there!  Oh God!  He wrote about how much he loves them!  Oh God, oh God, oh God!  They know!  They must think he is sick, or delusional, or pathetic!  Stupid, worthless omega writing about his dreams of being loved by his alpha best friends!  It was laughable, atrocious! 

 

**This is what they wanted to talk to you about, worthless cunt!  They know your feelings.  They don’t care!  They will never return your love!  You are nothing but a miserable fuck!  You are an embarrassment to your gender dreaming dreams that you ought not to be dreaming!**

Zayn heard nothing but the screaming in his mind.  He was not aware of the hands and voices that surrounded him, trying and failing to calm him.  He was not aware of the tears running from his eyes like rivers.  He was not aware of his own voice echoing loudly in the air around him. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn was screaming and crying and chanting a mantra of “I know,” “worthless,” and “stupid omega! Stupid,” with other words being distorted enough by his sobs that they were unrecognizable. 

 

The alphas tried to console him, grabbing his hands and face, whispering soothing words into his ears, rubbing softly at his neck, shoulders, and scalp.  They tried anything to grab his attention, to pull him away from his panic and towards them and reality, but it didn’t work.  They could see by the faraway look in the omega’s eyes; he wasn’t with them anymore.  He was responding to voices that only he could hear, completely oblivious to what was really happening. 

 

Finally Harry did the only thing that he thought he could do at that point.  The omega was curled up in a tiny ball on the couch, rocking manically back and forth, his hands scrambling for purchase wrapped around his legs that were pulled tightly to his chest.  Harry stood up from his place on the floor and wrapped his arms around the shivering ball of omega, lifting him into his arms then sitting down in his place, pulling the omega to his chest and hugging him. 

 

“What do we do?” Liam cried.  He didn’t know who was more distraught right now; the hysterical omega or the alphas that put him in that state.  He was heartbroken for his friend.  They all were. 

 

 

“Now we wait for him to cry it out.  Like Dr. Gray said there is a poison in him and this is how he needs to purge it,” Harry said.  There was a sage-like quality to his slow deep voice that calmed the other alphas.  Not enough to ease their anxiety, but enough to have them channel that anxiety into soothing the omega.  

 

It took approximately a half hour (though it felt like much longer) for the omega to cry himself into a restless slumber, his body finally shuddering to stillness in Harry’s arms with his face pressed into the alpha’s neck.  Each of the boys continued to pet him and coo softly at him. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It was about an hour later when the omega finally started to stir.  Zayn slowly rolled his shoulders and tried to shift his position on the couch, not realizing that he was in Harry’s lap.  Before he was fully conscious Harry began whispering to him and rubbing his hands softly up and down Zayn’s arm.  “Zayn, sweetie, it’s okay, wake up now.  You are safe, I’m here, the boys are here, and everything is okay.”

 

Zayn timidly opened his eyes and looked around.  The alphas noticed that his eyes were puffy and blood shot completely red. 

 

“Zayn baby, don’t panic, just stay calm,” Louis stated.  “Do you remember what happened?”  Zayn’s eyes grew big and round, he looked like a deer in headlights, but before his panic could take root Louis was shutting it down.  “No Zayn.  Don’t panic.  Be a good boy for me and stay calm.  You want to be a good boy for me right?” 

 

“Lou!” Niall gasped.  He couldn’t believe that Louis would manipulate Zayn’s omega instincts like that.  They were trying to build his trust not push him away. 

 

Louis turned a harsh glare on the blonde alpha.  “You all said that I was the leader.  Let me fucking lead.”  Niall looked taken aback but nodded his consent none the less.  “I know what I’m doing.  Trust me.”

 

Louis turned back to the omega and repeated, “You will be a good boy for me and not panic.”  It took a few moments and several deep breaths, but finally Zayn nodded his head just a bit to show that he wanted to be good. 

 

Zayn could feel the panic in his body but knowing that Louis did not want him to show it… it made it impossible for him to allow it to the surface.  It was like a block was placed on it.  His body or his mind, maybe both, was refusing to go against the alphas wishes.  Even if he wanted to Zayn didn’t think that he could panic.  Not that he wanted to at all.  He was grateful for Louis’ command.  Panicking made him look and feel weak.  He did not want the alphas to see him like that anymore.  It was mortifying.

 

“Okay babe, you didn’t let me finish before.  Yes we read your journal and it was a violation of your privacy.  We all know that, and we did not do it lightly.  We knew that it would make you upset and we did it anyway, and we are so sorry that we had to do it.  You need to understand, we didn’t have another choice.  You were in a coma, you were hurt.  The things that we had witnessed those fucking alphas doing to you… the damage that we saw on your body.  We had to know what your journal said.  You are an omega in our care and you had obviously been keeping secrets from us.  Huge secrets.  We did it with the best intentions; that I promise you.  But we are still sorry that it came to that.”

 

“Please try to see it from our point of view.  You know what happened in that fucking shed.  Imagine if it had been one of us and you walked in on it.  Imagine if it was one of us in a coma for days, having almost died.  Wouldn’t you have done the same thing?”

 

Zayn really seemed to think over Louis words.  That was a good start.  It meant he was not only listening but trying to understand as well.  Zayn bowed his head and bit his lip as he let out a quiet sigh.  He looked up again and glanced at Louis and nodded his head. 

 

“Okay.  Again, we are sorry that we had to invade your privacy.  We did not want to break your trust and we will work hard for as long as it takes to gain that trust back.”  Zayn looked up questioningly but Louis ignored it.  “You panicked because you realized that we read about your feelings for you didn’t you.” 

 

It wasn’t a question.  All of the alphas had read the journal and knew that Zayn believed it to be impossible for an alpha to love him, especially his alpha band mates.  They knew that Zayn felt that they would be disgusted by his feelings and punish him for them.  Zayn had to have figured that they would have some idea that it hadn’t been the first time that he was sold.  The only explanation for his panic was that he knew that they knew that he loved them.  

 

Zayn didn’t respond.  Louis didn’t expect him too. 

 

“Baby, I want to explain something to you.  Look at me please.”  Louis waited until Zayn hesitantly picked up his head a little and looked up through his long dark lashes to make eye contact with the alpha.  “We feel the same way about you.  We love you too.  Always have I think.”

 

Zayn’s jaw dropped but he couldn’t focus on it enough to be bothered to close it. 

 

**Lies!  He is lying to you.  They will never love you.  You are nothing but a worthless piece of shit!  They are fucking with you!**

 

Zayn shook his head violently, he knew the alpha was lying and the voices were saying the truth.  He couldn’t afford to get his hopes up.  No.  Why was Louis doing this?

 

“Zayn!  Zayn, listen to me, be a good boy,” Louis said gently while placing his small hands on either side of the omega’s face.  He was afraid that Zayn was going to pull something in his neck if he kept shaking his head like that.  “Zayn I know it is hard for you to think, but it is true.  Just look at us.  Have we ever lied to you?  We love you and we want you with us.  We want to bond with you.  All of us.”

 

He sounded so sincere was the thing.  Zayn wanted to believe him.  He felt a warm tug near his heart.  Hope.  He wanted to believe Louis’ words.  He wanted to believe that they loved him, that maybe, just maybe, his dreams could come true. 

 

**Even if he is telling the truth it won’t matter!  Your parents still have control over you.  You are a nothing.  Nothing!  They will never let you be happy.  They are going to take you back and sell you again and again and again!  It will never end!**

 

“No.”

 

Louis hid his shock.  He didn’t expect Zayn to talk.  “No what baby?”

 

“Baba won’t allow it.  Even if you do mean it… I won’t be allowed.  I am nothing and he controls me.”

 

“No baby, no.”  Louis sounded so earnest when he said it that Zayn could not stop himself from looking up again.  “Baby, the alphas…”  Louis stopped, he looked pained.  He turned to the other alphas silently begging for help. 

 

Niall came to his rescue.  With tearstained cheeks he said, “Your parents are gone.  The alpha twins that attacked you killed them before they ever got to the shed.”

 

Suddenly the alpha’s words from that first day rang through his mind… _“But you took care of him and his pretty beta bitch.”_    Zayn had shoved the words to the back of his mind in favor of focusing on staying alive.  He had forgotten about them but now they came rushing back.  That is what they meant then?  His parents were gone? 

 

Zayn didn’t know what to think.  They were his parents, he loved them; they had brought him into this world.  They were his parents, he hated them; they had made him wish that he had never been born.  He pushed the thoughts back again… he couldn’t think about these complex feelings right now, it was just too much. 

 

Instead he just said, “Management…”

 

Liam jumped in this time, “Management will never do that to you.  They have done some fucked up shit, but _never_ that.  Even if they ever tried… which they _won’t_ … we would never allow it.”

 

“Zayn, you have been told things about what being an omega means your whole life,” Harry said sadly.  “They have all been _lies_.”

 

Zayn turns his head so fast towards the curly haired alphas voice that his neck cracks. 

 

“You were told that being an omega, especially a male omega, was a shame on your family, that you were less of a person.  That. Is. A. Lie.  Your family didn’t deserve you.  All omegas are to be cherished and protected and loved.  It is the law.  Male omegas are even more special.  You are so rare and beautiful and lovely.  You are so much more than nothing, so much more than worthless.”

 

Zayn gapped at him.  “No, Baba said I was a disgrace because of my heats… that it was shameful to be gagging for it all the time.”

 

“Your Baba lied.  The law is to protect omegas.  Your heats are no different from our ruts.  It is biology and nothing to be ashamed of,” Louis said vehemently.  

 

“But…”

 

“No buts.”  Niall said, uncharacteristically harsh.  “He lied.  What is not a lie is that we love you and we want to be with you.  You are safe now; no one will ever hurt you again.  Ever.  We want you to be ours.  We will protect you and treat you the way that you have always deserved to be treated.  We want you to choose us.”

 

The omega could do nothing but stare at the alphas.  He didn’t understand.  This was… confusing.  If what his friends were saying was true… his dreams could become a reality.  He couldn’t believe that.  It was overwhelming.

 

It was silent while the alphas watched the omega try and process what they were telling him. 

 

“Will you choose us Zayn?” Niall asked hesitantly.

 

Zayn shook his head.  “I can’t.  I don’t… It’s just…”

 

“It’s okay Z,” Louis jumped in.  “You love us, we know that.  We know that we love you too, but you don’t know that yet.  We understand and it’s okay.”  Louis reached out and grabbed the omega’s hands and held them lightly between his own.  So how about we work on that okay?  How about you let us prove to you that we are telling you the truth.  Let us prove our love.  Would you be willing to do that?”

 

Zayn thought about it and it seemed fair, these were his best friends after all.  “Yeah, I guess that would be okay.”

 

All the alphas broke out into huge smiles.  Harry gently ran his fingers through the back of Zayn’s hair. 

 

Liam reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.  “Zayn, let me show you something.”  Liam opened his twitter app and typed out a quick message and posted it before showing it to the omega who was still curled in Harry’s lap. 

 

@Real_Liam_Payne

Directioners we r tryin 2 prove somethin 2 Z & need ur help: if u support his omega status trend #weloveomegaZayn

 

Zayn watched wide eyed as Liam’s notifications exploded.  Liam switched to worldwide trends and it was already there at the bottom.  Within ten minutes #weloveomegaZayn was trending number one worldwide followed by #getwellsoonZayn and #wemissyouZayn and #Directioners4Ever.  There were tweets not only from Directioners but also from countless actors, singers, musicians, politicians, and news sites showing their support for Zayn. 

 

Zayn couldn’t hold back his tears; they glistened on his eyelashes before they silently fell down his cheeks, dampening the collar of his shirt.  “I told you baby, you have been lied to.  The world loves you and is here to support you, just like we are,” Harry whispered to the omega. 

 

Louis smiled warmly.  It hadn’t gone smoothly and the omega had panicked, but overall the end result was pretty good.  Zayn looked like he wanted to believe them.  It was a step in the right direction. 

 

“Sweetie how about we go and lay down.  This has been a rough day,” Louis said.  Zayn agreed; he felt extremely drained. 

 

The five of them lay down for a kip.  They all slept in their own beds; Zayn felt he needed a little space so that he could continue to process everything that happened that day.  The lads were okay with his decision.  They knew that they could not push him into anything.  He needed to come to the conclusion of how much they loved him on his own. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

A few hours later they all woke up feeling more refreshed.  They went downstairs and ate then watched a couple of movies.  It was pretty early when they decided to call it a night and head to bed.  Again Zayn decided to sleep on his own.  As they tucked him into his bed Louis said, “Z we want to spend some time with you one-on-one if that is okay with you.”  Zayn nodded, that was probably a good idea; all together the alphas can be a little intimidating.  “Good, that’s good.  We want you to choose who to spend the day with tomorrow.  Whoever you don’t choose will leave the house for a few hours to give you some bonding time.  Then the next day you can choose the next one of us, and so on.  How does that sound?”

 

“Okay.  Yeah I can do that,” Zayn said quietly while nodding his head tiredly. 

 

“Who is first babe?” Liam inquired. 

 

It didn’t take any time at all for Zayn to respond, “Niall.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I hope to keep up the relatively fast updates but I got a call about an hour ago from my mom. My cousin's 3 year old son got ahold of a loaded gun and it went off killing him. I had only met the boy once and don't get to talk to that cousin very often but it still has hit me hard. Such a senseless accident that could have easily been avoided. So I will have to make time to go to the funeral this week. 
> 
> But I do not want to end on a sad note... ironic considering what this fic is about I know... but I have to express HAPPY PRIDE!! I have never been so proud to be an American. This was something that should have happened a long time ago, but it happened now. Congratulations to my LGBTQIA family!! This is a huge step but the fight is not over... there is still a long way to go in LGBTQIA rights in this country but this is a step in the right direction!! 
> 
> #LoveWins


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer than I wanted to post... as I mentioned before, my cousin's little boy died on 6/28/15 and then my grandfather passed on 7/1/15 of a massive stroke. So it was a bad week. Thank you for all your condolences, they are much appreciated. 
> 
> Without further adieu... enjoy the next chapter!

The boys were woken up the next morning by the sound of soft whimpers coming from Zayn’s bed.  He had again wanted to sleep by himself so the alphas had reluctantly retreated to their separate beds.  They wouldn’t admit it in front of the omega but they missed the nighttime cuddles.  Niall missed having the tiny omega using his chest as a pillow; being able to smell him and feel him being so close, so that he knew that Zayn was safe.  Not that he thought there was any danger in the house but it was soothing to _know_ , especially after everything that had happened. 

 

The other boys were missing cuddles too.  They had grown accustomed to sleeping while immersed in each other’s scents.  The alphas all smelled differently now that they were in the house.  The scent neutralizers were working, the alphas reminding each other each day to take the pills so they didn’t have to use reapply the spray every few hours.  The pills didn’t take away their scent entirely; it just masked the part of their scent that identified them as alpha.  Basically they smelled like betas.  Never the less it was comforting when they were sleeping together.  It was a tight fit with Harry, Liam, and Louis in one bed, but they had managed.  It would be utterly impossible to fit Niall in with them as well though.   

 

They could have doubled up in the beds and not been so lonely but they decided that it wouldn’t have been fair to Zayn to sleep by himself when they had the comfort of another body next to them, even if it was the omegas choice to sleep alone. 

 

Zayn whimpers again and Niall is rushing out of his bunk to get to his side, Liam, Louis and Harry right behind him.  When they got to the side of the omega’s bed they were more than a little surprised to see that Zayn was still asleep.  The alphas looked at each other with raised eye brows wondering if they had just imagined the sad sounds.  Before any of them could comment there was a tiny whine from the bed.  When they looked down they saw a frown displayed on the omega’s features.  As they watched his brow furrowed and his face scrunched up like he was in pain.  Zayn then began trembling and his whimpers increased in volume.  The omega began thrashing in bed, not a lot but enough to show how much discomfort he was in. 

 

“He is having a nightmare,” Niall said.

 

“Thank you Captain Obvious.  I think we figured that out already,” Louis snapped.  He wasn’t really mad at Niall; he was distressed by seeing Zayn in distress.  He tends to get snappish when he is stressed, it is a character flaw… he can’t help it. 

 

“We should wake him up.  I don’t like seeing him like this,” Niall said ignoring Louis’ comment. 

 

“But what if he can’t get back to sleep?” Harry asked worriedly.  He didn’t like seeing Zayn upset either, it was making him anxious but he also knew that if they woke the omega up that they may not get him back to sleep.  Zayn would cry and then be unreasonably upset because he was crying.  Even if they did get him back to sleep would be fretful.  Harry could just imagine how bad his head had hurt from crying earlier and that would not help.  Harry was also worried about the outcome of them waking the omega who was in the middle of a nightmare.  They had only gotten him to start opening up… what if it scared him back into silence again. 

 

Without a word to any of the alphas with eyes only for Zayn, Liam began singing softly:

_You tell me that you're sad and lost your way You tell me that your tears are here to stay But I know you were only hiding And I just wanna see ya_  
  


Niall smiled at Liam and picked up his verse, keeping it to the slower more mellow beat that Liam had created in his verse. 

_You tell me that you're hurt and you're in pain And I can see your head is held in shame But I just wanna see you smile again See you smile again But don't burn out Even if you scream and shout It'll come back to you And I'll be here for you_  
  


All the alphas jumped in and picked up the song, harmonizing flawlessly even with the melody being slower and softer than they had ever practiced it before.

_Oh, I would carry you over fire and water for your love And I will hold you closer, hope your heart is strong enough When the night is coming down on you We will find a way through the dark_  
  


Liam picked up again on for Zayn’s verse, reaching out and running his hand softly through his fringe. 

_I wish that I could take you to the start I'd never let you fall and break your heart And if you wanna cry or fall apart, I'd be there to hold ya_  
  


By the time that Louis started his part of the song Zayn had visibly calmed and relaxed, going pliant against the pillows.  Louis reached out and grabbed the omega’s hand, rubbing his thumb softly over the back of his palm soothingly.

_You tell me that you heart it's all in vain But I can see your heart can love again And I remember you were laughing So let's just laugh again_  
  


Niall continued to grin, being eased by watching the omega settle into the pillows again. 

_But don't burn out even If you scream and shout It'll come back to you, Back to you Oh, I would carry you over fire and water for your love And I will hold you closer, hope your heart is strong enough When the night is coming down on you_  
  


This time Harry picked up Zayn’s lines, feeling much better now that Zayn seemed to have calmed down from his nightmare.  Harry reached a hand out and lightly trailed the tips of his fingers over the omega’s sharp cheek bone.

_We will find a way through the dark And you don't need, you don't need to run And you will see it's easy to be loved I know you wanna be loved Oh, I will carry you over fire and water for your love... Oh, I would carry you over fire and water for your love And I will hold you closer, hope your heart is strong enough When the night is coming down on you We will find a way through the dark Oh, I would carry you over fire and water for your love And I will hold you closer, hope your heart is strong enough When the night is coming down We will find a way through the dark_

 

By the time that the song was over Zayn was sleeping peacefully again.  With one last smile to the sleeping omega the alphas shuffled back to their beds and went back to sleep. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

When morning came the alphas were up first, as per usual.  Amongst themselves they decided that they would have breakfast together and then Louis, Liam and Harry would leave for the day.  Niall had let them know that he would be fine helping Zayn get cleaned up after they left. 

 

When breakfast was ready the alpha’s woke up Zayn and helped him downstairs.  The omega didn’t say anything about the nightmare and the alphas didn’t bring it up, figuring it was a discussion for another day. 

 

Finally when all the dishes have been cleaned and put away the three alphas prepare to take their leave.  Zayn was sitting on a bar stool at the counter, having moved there to watch the alphas clean up.  They were not allowing him to clear plates, let alone do the dishes, so he was content to sit and watch secretly confused and humored by the alphas doing what he was always taught was omega’s work. 

 

Harry approached the omega and kneeled down in front of him so that he was looking up into Zayn’s eyes.  “Louis, Liam, and I are going to leave now so you can have your day with Niall.  We will only be gone for a few hours.  Are you still okay with this?”

 

Zayn nodded his head, only making brief eye contact with the curly haired alpha in front of him.  He was nervous but kept his thoughts focused on the fact that he knew Niall.  He had known Niall for years and never, not even once had Niall ever tried to hurt him.  As long as Zayn kept that at the forefront of his mind he thought that he would be okay. 

 

Harry must have seen a little glimmer of fear in Zayn’s eyes though because he said, “Paddy and Preston will be outside the whole time along with a team of security.  Paul is going with us.  If anything happens, just yell and they will come running.  Paul gave Preston the security code so that he can enter the house if he needs to, and don’t worry; after we get back home later Paul is going to change the security code again.  There is nothing to worry about, you are safe.”

 

Harry waited until Zayn nodded his head, indicating that he had been listening to what Harry was saying before he stood up and said, “Can I give you a kiss on the forehead?”  Harry whispered the words quietly, as if he was afraid to ask or was afraid of the answer. 

 

Zayn felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards.  It wasn’t a lot, but it was something.  He nodded his head.  Harry grinned so brightly, it looked like actual sunshine, both dimples looking like craters on his cheeks, when he bent down and tenderly placed his lips to the omega’s forehead.  Harry was grinning so widely that it could hardly be counted as a kiss; more like just lips touching the omega’s skin, but Harry was happy and that sent a bolt of warmth through Zayn.  He liked being the cause of the alpha’s smile. 

 

Harry backed away from Zayn and allowed Louis to come forward to say goodbye.  “Now some house rules before we go…”

 

“You do know this is my house right?  You don’t get to make the rules,” Harry interrupts before Louis can start going on a tangent. 

 

“We are all living here and I am the oldest, therefore I am the most responsible,” Louis starts.

 

Niall snorts, “Most irresponsible ya mean.”

 

Louis glares at the blonde alpha, “Have you quite finished?” 

 

Niall wasn’t going to answer but Louis had stopped talking and was looking at him pointedly.  He sighs and said with a wicked grin, “Go on then, lay down the law, Zayn make sure you take notes, we have to be sure to obey our elders.”

 

“Fuck you very much, Blondie,” Louis said while giving Niall a one finger salute.  Zayn couldn’t help the little giggle that escaped him as he watched the interaction.  At the sound all the alphas looked quite pleased.  “Anyway as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted… house rules: 1. No wild parties or drinking, at least not without me.  2.  If silly string is used, be sure to keep it pointed away from the ceilings.  The bloody things are so high in this house not even Harold would be able to reach it to get it clean without a ladder and we all know what a bloody disaster that would be.  Haz on a ladder, can you imagine?”

 

Harry let out an indignant drawn out “Heeeeyyyyyyyyy!” at Louis comment, but Louis decided to ignore his outburst.   

 

“And 3.  Don’t rearrange the furniture.  If I get up in the middle of the night and stub my toe I will be very cross with all of you, no matter who is at fault.”  Louis then swooped in carefully and placed a kiss on Zayn’s temple and whispered in his ear so that the other alphas wouldn’t hear, “I will miss you, you are such a brave boy, my strong omega.”

 

Zayn didn’t have time to respond to Louis’ words before he was backing off and letting Liam take his place.  Liam had no drawn out speech as part of his goodbye, only three words, but his declaration was the largest.  Liam simply placed a gentle kiss on the top of the omega’s hair and said “We love you,” before turning away and leaving the house quickly with the other alphas. 

 

Zayn stiffened when the faint smell of alpha drifted in from the outside when the door was opened but Niall was there, taking his hand and murmuring “It’s okay that is just security, Preston, Paul and Paddy; nothing to worry about.”  When the muscles in Zayn’s hand had relaxed, Niall smiled and asked the omega, “Okay so what do you want to do today?”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“Hello boys!  It is good to see you.  How is everything going?  How is Zayn doing?”  Simon asked when Louis, Liam, and Harry entered his office followed by Paul.  The boys had decided that they wanted to do some sort of official statement to the world about the situation that had been unfolding for the last few weeks.  After all, their world stadium tour had been postponed indefinitely and other before the previous night all the boys had been silent on social media.  The fans had shown that they were still 100% supportive of the group but the boys knew that they had to give something back.  So it was decided that a meeting with Simon was in order. 

 

The boys caught Simon up on Zayn’s health and wellbeing, opting to tell him everything.  Simon may have been their boss, but he was also Uncle Si. 

 

“Well I am glad that he seems to be on the road to recovery.  It sounds like he still has a long way to go,” Simon said as the boys finished telling of the previous night’s events.  All the boys nodded.  “So what brings you here today?”

 

Liam started, “We want to do an interview, maybe some fan interactions, something this week.  We want to address what happened, we want to assure our fans and the world that Zayn is safe now, thank them for their loyalty.  Obviously at this time we don’t know when we will be able to go back on tour.  None of us will tour without Zayn, and he is just not ready for that yet, but we want to reassure our fans that we are still here and we appreciate them.”

 

“I still can’t get over what happened at the hospital,” Louis said with what sounded a lot like awe in his voice.  “The fans and the media… they showed so much respect to Zayn, we all appreciated it so much, we just want to give something back.”

 

Harry jumped in, “We also wanted to talk to you about starting some sort of drive, or outreach program, or something for other abused omegas.  After seeing what Zayn went through… we just feel awful.  I have faith that Zayn will come out of this okay, in no small part due to him having access to a support system that will make sure that he has everything that he needs to overcome this, but what about other omegas that are abused?  We want to do something to help them.  If this could happen to Zayn, being in the public eye and all, it could happen to any omega regardless of what the societal laws are.”

 

Simon took a moment to think over what the boys said.  He would never stop being amazed by the graciousness of these boys.  Fame did not change them; they are changing fame. 

 

“Regarding what Harry said, do you boys have any plans or detailed ideas of what you want to do?”

 

“Not really, just the general idea that I mentioned.  We were hoping that you would have some ideas on what we can do,” Harry answered. 

 

“Okay.  Let me think on it and I’ll get a team together to draw something up.  It will be presented to myself and the four of you, five if Zayn is up to it, for approval before anything is rolled out.  How does that sound?”  Simon asked, taking notes as he said it.  The boys agreed, all nodding their heads, happy that Simon was on board. 

 

“Now about the interview…”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn hadn’t known what he wanted to do and Niall had been itching to stretch his legs a bit.  Niall thought that it would be good for Zayn to get some sort of exercise, endorphins and all that.  So it was decided that they would make their way down to the basement. 

 

The basement was large and mostly open.  There was a workout room to one side with lots of equipment and weights and the other side was mostly empty except for nets that could be set up for various sports.  There was a net that could be spread across the room at various heights to be used for volleyball, tennis, or badminton, as well as a basketball hoop, and a goal nets for hockey or football.  There was a rack with various sporting equipment as well.  Harry even had a couple of American footballs on the rack.   

 

Niall whistled as the pair took it all in.  Both knew that the rooms were down there, but in the time that they had been in the house neither had ventured down to see it. 

 

“I love how all of this is in Harry’s house.  Of all of us, Harry has the sports room.  The same Harry that can trip on a flat surface because he can’t control his gangly arms and legs,” Niall laughed.    

 

“Always overly optimistic, that one,” Zayn said quietly.  Niall turned his head at the sound of his voice, still not use to Zayn talking, but certainly enjoying the change of pace. 

 

“What do you say we kick the footie around a bit?” Niall said with a hopeful look in his eye. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The two boys kicked a football around the basement for a while, mostly just passing it back and forth between each other.  Niall didn’t want to play actual one-on-one trying to score points because he didn’t want Zayn to get hurt.  The omega was doing pretty well physically and was able to be up on his feet and move around on his own but he was still very weak.  He hadn’t been up and moving around much since he was in the hospital, so they figured that they would keep it low key. 

 

Zayn had never been very good at sports.  He had gotten the muscles and definition that he had by boxing, not kicking a ball.  As a result, Niall was working up a sweat running after the ball that had been kicked far off to the side, instead of toward the general vicinity of where he was actually standing.  In the beginning Niall figured that the horrible aiming was accidental, Zayn had actually apologized a few times when the ball ended up on the other side of the room from Niall.  Now though, Niall began thinking that at least some of the omega’s kicks were controlled enough to purposely aim the ball away from Niall.  Niall refused to call the omega out on it though as every time it happened, Zayn would break out into a tiny fit of giggles, and it was so endearing. 

 

After about an hour of passing the ball, the two decided to practice shooting the ball into the goal net.  Niall let Zayn take a couple shots first while he got his breath back from chasing the bloody ball all around the basement.  After watching Zayn’s technique and seeing him becoming slightly frustrated when the ball would skid across the floor then curve too to the left, missing the net. 

 

“The way your connecting your foot to the ball is making it spin; that’s why it is curving when it bounces on the ground, here watch me,” Niall instructed.  Niall kicked the ball and the two watched as it sail into the net. 

 

Zayn huffed in frustration, saying quietly, “That’s not fair though.  I can’t kick it hard enough to make it get to the net without bouncing on the ground first.” 

 

“Alright, alright, that was a horrible demo shot,” Niall laughed.  “Let me try again.”  This time Niall kicked the ball, not using as much strength as he had on the pervious shot.  The ball flew through the air before hitting the ground once then bouncing straight into the net.  “There see?  Now you try.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It took another hour of coaching and demonstrating, Zayn was finally able to get most of his shots into the net and both boys were covered in sweat with achy muscles.  Zayn plopped down on the floor, being too tired to try and climb back upstairs to the living room just yet and not wanting Niall to have to carry him.  Niall quickly went upstairs to grab some water and snacks for them to share coming back down a few minutes later with two turkey and cheese sandwiches, a cut up apple, a small dish of peanut butter, grapes and two bottles of water, handing one bottle to Zayn to drink before sitting down next to him on the floor. 

 

Zayn opened his water and took a few grateful sips before grabbing an apple slice and dipping it into the peanut butter, munching on it happily.  This was going easier than he had expected.  This was almost like old times; just Niall and Zayn, kicking a ball around and being lads.  It was nice, Zayn had known that he missed this, but now that he was experiencing it again after so long… he realized that he had missed it more than he had even thought that he did. 

 

The two ate in silence, just catching their breath and enjoying one another’s company.  When the snacks and water were gone, Niall decided to break the silence.  “Why didn’t you talk after the hospital?”

 

Zayn was slightly caught off guard, he hadn’t really thought about it before; why he had decided to live in silence.  It wasn’t really an active decision; at least he didn’t think it was.  It wasn’t that he physically couldn’t talk; he could.  He just didn’t.  He was embarrassed that his friends had found out all of his secrets didn’t really know what to say, so he didn’t say anything. 

 

“I don’t know really.  Maybe it was just easier to not talk.”

 

“Well I am happy that you are talking now, at least a little.  I don’t want to pressure you; if you don’t want to talk you don’t have to.  But if you do, I am always here to listen to you, we all are.  We missed hearing your voice,” Niall said sincerely. 

 

The two made small talk for a little bit, just talking about lad stuff, making fun of Harry again when he was not there to defend himself about how ironic it is for him to have a sports room in his house when he is as clumsy as he is.  Which isn’t really fair, Harry is very athletic, and though he is not very good with sports that have balls (insert ball jokes here: the two boys certainly did!), he is pretty good at badminton. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

After a bit Zayn said that he was feeling inspired to paint a bit.  After Paul had gotten art supplies for him, Zayn had tried to relax into his art but nothing would work the way that he wanted it to and he had become irritated.  He was trying to force it to come, and that never resulted in anything that he liked.  Now though, he felt that spark.  He told Niall, who jumped to his feet and took off upstairs and began bringing art supplies downstairs at an alarming pace. 

 

“You know I could have just gone upstairs right?” Zayn asked, raising an eyebrow at the blonde alpha.  Niall just looked at him with his mouth dropped open in an “o” shape, seemingly floored by that epiphany.  “Nialler, I think you should stop dying your hair, I think the blonde is seeping in,” Zayn said with a laugh. 

 

“Well it is down here now and at least we can leave it down here.  There is an empty shelf over there on the other side of the weights, this can be like a make shift art studio for a while at least.  There is only one more thing that I need to get,” and with that Niall took off back upstairs. 

 

He came back down with his arms full of a large roll of paper and some tape.  Where he got the roll of paper Zayn had no idea… and he wasn’t going to ask.  Niall began unrolling it and ripped off a large piece and began trying to tape it up on a blank expanse of wall.  Seeing what he was doing, Zayn quickly got to his feet to help. In no time Zayn had a large blank canvas to start working on.   Zayn picked up a can of spray paint at random and began doodling happily as Niall took a seat on the floor and watched in silence as the omega worked. 

 

“Can you do a picture of me?”

 

“No I don’t like you,” Zayn said seriously before turning and flashing a grin at the alpha with his tongue pressed against the back of his teeth.  He looked so damn cute and smug at his cheek that Niall couldn’t even pretend to be angry. 

 

Niall eventually went upstairs and got his guitar and brought it down to the basement and sat on the floor with it absently picking a tune with his fingers.  It wasn’t anything he knew, just going with what felt right.  He started humming along, after a while Zayn joined in.  It was beautiful.  Zayn hadn’t sung since rehearsals.  It was lovely hearing his voice again. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

A couple hours later, the paper on the wall is filled with graffiti styled art, Zayn’s fingers are stained all the colors of the rainbow, and the alpha and omega are on the floor, Zayn laying on his back playing air drums and belting out stupidly spontaneous lyrics to a tune that Niall is strumming on his guitar, both laughing manically in between made up verses. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Niall takes out his phone and looks at the time.  “Oh geez, the boys will be back soon.  You ready to go clean up so that we can have dinner with them?” he asks the omega. 

 

“Yeah, we smell bad,” Zayn laughs. 

 

Niall stands up and holds out his hand towards Zayn to help him up.  He is pleasantly surprised when the omega takes his had without question and allows himself to be pulled to his feet. 

 

Zayn is a little stiff from sitting on the floor for so long so he wraps his arm around Niall’s waist for support as they get to the staircase.  They make it to the first floor with no issues but when they come to the stairs going to the second floor, Zayn sighs dramatically “Carry me Niall!”

 

Niall laughs and turns his back to the omega, and squats down, “Hop on,” he says over his shoulder. 

 

Zayn giggles again as he clamors up on Niall’s back, wrapping his arms around the alphas neck and lifting his knees so Niall can hold him by the back of his thighs.  Zayn doesn’t even flinch at the contact and is proud of himself. 

 

Niall draws Zayn a bath and gets him settled in it before hopping in the shower (after being assured by Zayn that he was okay with Niall bathing at the same time in the same room, of course).  He showers quickly and hops out in time to help Zayn shampoo and condition his hair, Zayn having opted to wash his body while Niall was in the shower.  They finish up and get dressed in time to greet the boys when they walk through the door. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Over dinner, Niall and Zayn tell Harry, Liam, and Louis about their day and what they did.  Mostly Niall talking, Zayn having clamed up a bit around all the other boys, but he did talk to them, so it was an improvement.  The boys told what they had done that day and passed on Simon’s well wishes to Zayn.  They left out the part about the discussion about the request for a charity drive for omegas, deciding that they wanted to get all the details ironed out before they told Zayn, wanting it to be a surprise for him. 

 

After dinner, when they had all retreated to the living room to relax for the rest of the night, Niall brought up the question regarding the next day.  “Zayn, who do you want to spend the day with tomorrow?”

 

Zayn froze; he had been dreading this all day.  Niall had been an easy choice; for an alpha he wasn’t very intimidating most of the time.  He was so easy going and on the small skinny side.  When he was mad, he was a force to be reckoned with, but he was hardly ever mad, so it didn’t matter. 

 

But now, between the other three, Zayn didn’t know who to choose.  Harry was easy going and cheery as well.  Always so friendly and kind; but despite his disposition and long curly hair that gave him the illusion of being soft and pliable, he was muscular and large.  A few inches taller than Zayn and a lot stronger; and his hands… they were massive.  Zayn looked at his hands now and can vividly remember large hands like that striking him and wrapping around his throat.  Zayn’s breath hitched in his chest and he fought the panic bubbling inside at the memories, pushing them back so he didn’t have to deal with them. 

 

He looked at Louis.  No, he was not ready for Louis yet.  Louis would be ideal if he wasn’t so… Louis.  He was smaller than the other alphas, just a little shorter than Zayn himself, and physically less intimidating, but Zayn could still sense the anger that Louis felt.  He could not face that yet, so Louis was out of the question for now. 

 

That left Liam.  Liam, like Harry was large and muscular; intimidating to look at.  But his face and eyes resembled a puppy dog.  It almost made up for how strong he was.  Both Liam and Harry had innocent eyes… but Harry’s hands… he just couldn’t.  Not yet.

 

“Liam.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously, the song is Through the Dark. One of my favorites. I had Little Things there first... but then I changed it, I think this is more fitting. 
> 
> I had drama planned out for this chapter instead of just fluffy bonding between Niall and Zayn... I didn't think that this chapter would be this long. I had thought that these one-on-one chapters would be daunting to write but this one I think I got carried away with. So there was no drama in this chapter. The next three chapters will be dedicated, like this one to Zayn's days with each of the boys. I have them outlined, and after Niall's chapter was so large I decided to pass the drama meant for him on to Liam... So be prepared for that... 
> 
> Also there will be a massive curve ball thrown after the one-on-one days that the boys will have to deal with... then when that seems to have died down there will be another even bigger twist! This story is far from over! 
> 
> As always, thank you for reading and commenting. I have been distracted and not been able to respond to comments, but I enjoy reading every one. The subject of aftercare being explained to Zayn will come... I'm just not sure when yet... I may edit chapter 18 later and add it there or add it in a later chapter, I haven't decided yet. 
> 
> Anyway tell me what you think! 
> 
> Love you all and wish you well!!


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honor of the boys' five year anniversary and the Ziam tweets that happened today... I present to you... the Ziam chapter!! I hope you enjoy... please don't hate me!

Zayn had another nightmare that night. The alphas woke up to the sounds of the omega crying and struggling against the tangled sheets. Again he didn’t wake from the nightmare. The alphas were afraid that this was going to become a nightly occurrence, since it had started as soon as Zayn had gotten on a regular sleeping pattern. It wasn’t that the alphas minded being woken up, they were just very concerned with what the nightmares were doing to their omega’s psyche. They knew that they would have to talk to Zayn about what was happening in his dreams to find some way to stop them, but he didn’t seem to remember them when he woke up before so for now they would play it by ear.

 

This night, Niall and Liam settled themselves on either side of the head of the bed, curled around the omega’s pillows and began humming the tune of Little Things while brushing their fingers through Zayn’s fringe. Zayn was slightly sweaty from his struggles with the sheets that he had somehow wrapped all around himself, effectively trapping his arms to his chest and pinning his legs together. He had basically turned himself into a burrito. Harry and Louis set about the task of untangling the omega. It took a few minutes of gently man-handling but the two alphas were able to free the omega from the sheets without waking him. Zayn visibly calmed once he was freed of the constraints. Louis and Harry settled at the foot of the bed, each lying a comforting had on Zayn’s blanket clad ankles. It didn’t take them all much time to drift off to sleep again, comforted by the presence of each other.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day started off much like the previous. The alphas got up first and made breakfast before rousing the still sleeping omega. After breakfast Louis, Harry and Niall all kissed Zayn goodbye and left the house for the day leaving Liam and Zayn behind. Before he left Niall was sure to explain to Zayn that just like the day previously, Paul was going with the alphas but Preston, Paddy and their team were still outside. The security code had been changed last night and the new one was given to Preston this morning in case of an emergency. It would be changed again by Paul upon their arrival back at the house later that afternoon.

 

Zayn thought that the constant changing of the security codes was a bit excessive… the new one that Paul is going to set later that day is just going to be given to Preston tomorrow when the boys leave, so really what is the point in going through all the trouble. Zayn didn’t voice these thoughts though because as much as it seemed excessive, he was grateful for it none the less.

 

Zayn was cautiously optimistic about his day with Liam. He wasn’t nearly as comfortable with Liam as he was with Niall, at least not at this point, but he remembers how close he and the brown eyed alpha were after they first met. They had quickly bonded over a mutual love of comic books and super heroes. Of the group he and Liam were the resident geeks, always quoting lines from Batman and Green Lantern to each other, then proceeding to break out into fits of giggles that the others would just shake their heads at.

 

Unlike with the others, Liam and Zayn were able to sit in a room together and if they didn’t feel like talking… that was okay. They didn’t have uncomfortable silences. Almost all the time that Niall or Louis were in a room there was commotion, whether it was talking, yelling, banging, things being thrown… something was always happening. Niall didn’t like silence and Louis didn’t like calm and always had to be the center of attention. Harry was better, but when it was silent he had a way of making it awkward somehow. He would make a weird face or funny noise, just something that made it apparent that he was uncomfortable and was trying to pass on the feeling. Or he would do something accidently that would take a calm room and turn it on its ear; for instance trying to do jumping jacks in the dining room while dinner was being brought out, which subsequently ended in a large plate of sandwiches being unceremoniously being knocked through the air and for half of them to be splattered on the wall and the rest on the Sarah who had been carrying the platter.

 

But all that aside, the day with Niall had gone really well. So with that fresh in his memory Zayn was looking forward to spending the day with Liam. Everything would be okay. Just like Niall, Liam had never hurt Zayn before, so it was safe to assume that he wouldn’t be a danger to him now.

 

“So how are you feeling today? After all the activity yesterday with Niall I mean,” Liam asked gently. He knew that Zayn wasn’t comfortable talking to him as much yet and wanted to start off small.

 

“Okay. My legs are a little stiff.” It wasn’t a lie. He hadn’t done a whole lot yesterday; Niall had done all the running. All Zayn had done really is kick the ball, but he could feel the strain now in the muscles of his thighs and calves, his ankles and knee joints were achy as well.

 

“Why didn’t you say anything? Do you want a massage? Or some Motrin? A heating pad? What can I do to make you feel better?” Liam fretted.

 

Zayn felt a small grin slip onto his face, “I didn’t say anything because I knew what it was from and it’s not that bad. Maybe a Motrin and I may take you up on that massage later.” Zayn froze as soon as the words were out of his mouth. He couldn’t believe that he had said that out loud. What was he thinking? He felt his cheeks flame in embarrassment.

 

Liam for his part jumped up to fetch the pills and a glass of water for the omega. He heard what Zayn had said and smiled to himself, but decided that he would ignore the comment and pretend like he didn’t hear it.

 

Zayn took the pills and after a few minutes the blush that had taken over his face subsided. Liam then suggested, “I think I saw some board games in one of the closets upstairs; do you want to play something?”

 

The omega mulled over the question for a moment before nodding. “Can we play in the living room?”

 

“Of course.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

When Louis, Niall, and Harry went out to meet Paul they were informed that they were going to an interview for The Graham Norton Show that would be aired later that night. Simon had to pull a few strings to get them a spot that on that short of a notice, but it hadn’t been so hard because One Direction had been on radio silence since it had been revealed what had happened to Zayn. The media was dying for info on what had happened even if they were giving the outward appearance of respecting the privacy of the boys.

 

The boys arrived at the studio and were rushed into hair and make-up where they were met by Lou and Caroline. The boys greeted them and set to work getting three boys dressed and their hair done. The boys explained how Zayn was doing and promised to pass on their love to him, too soon though they were rushed to the green room to prepare for the interview.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Now we have some very special guests here today, everyone please welcome Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, and Niall Horan of One Direction!”

 

The audience erupted in cheers and applause as the boys took their seats on the red couch.

 

“So boys, how are you doing? You have been out of the public eye for a while now.”

 

“We are pretty good Graham considering everything,” Niall said.

 

“Now you know I have to address why there are only three of you today,” Graham said vaguely hoping one of the boys would jump in.

 

“Yeah there are. Liam is staying with Zayn right now. As you can imagine we are not leaving him alone right now, I’m sure you understand,” Louis explained.

 

“Yes, yes I’m sure. How is Zayn doing? We have all been so worried about him,” Graham said to the boys. Before any of them could reply, Graham turned to the audience, “For anyone who has been living under a rock for the last few weeks, Zayn Malik is another member of One Direction. He had previously been reported to have been an alpha like the rest of the members, including Liam Payne. A few weeks ago it was reviled that Zayn was in fact an omega and that he was being abused by unfit alphas and his parents who were betas. Zayn was rescued from the abuse by the rest of the alphas in the group and their tour manager and head of security Paul Higgins. The rescue resulted in the deaths of two unfit alphas and the discovery of bodies of Zayn’s parents who were murdered by those alphas. Before he could be rescued he was gravely injured and in the hospital for nearly two weeks. Since he has been out of the hospital, he and the other boys have been in seclusion.”

 

“Zayn has been doing okay considering everything. He is getting better every day and we are helping him to heal and get healthy again. He has been understandably timid with alphas after all of the abuse that he has sustained. We have been giving him one-on-one time with us to help him be more comfortable with us so that we can help him get better,” Louis explained.

 

“Now I was told that you boys had requested to do an interview at this time, can you explain why now?” Graham asked.

 

“We really just wanted to have a chance to tell all our fans how much we appreciate them and all they have done for us. When we left the hospital with Zayn, the fans were amazing, they like, cleared a path to the van so that we could get him there safely. We have never seen anything like it,” Harry said in his slow drawl.

 

“We wanted to let everyone know that we are taking care of Zayn and that even though we don’t know when we will be back on tour, we are so grateful for the fans for waiting for us to do what we need to do,” Niall gushed.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

By the time that Liam had come downstairs with his arms laden with various board games he was mildly shocked to see that the omega had been busy as well. Zayn had raided the couch of all its cushions and spread them out on the floor. He had then drug out all the spare pillows and blankets from the downstairs closet and spread them out on top so there was a nice cushy looking nest in the middle of the living room.

 

Liam beamed. It was reminiscent of the times on tour that the five of them would all pile into one hotel room to bond, or being reunited with each other after being apart. Liam had feared that Zayn had been so uncomfortable during their hotel nights together that it may have permanently scared the small omega. After all that Zayn had been through; being forced to sleep next to four alphas who, admittedly, have issues understanding the definition of personal space, he very well could have been terrified. But seeing Zayn go to the work of laying out the cushions, blankets and pillows himself… well it warmed Liam’s heart.

 

Laying down the games that he could find on the coffee table, Liam took a seat next to Zayn. “What do you want to start with?”

 

Zayn carefully looked over his choices. There was Monopoly, Scrabble, Disney Scene It (both the first and second one), Clue, Battleship, Sorry and Zayn couldn’t help but snicker when he saw the box that held the tower of Jenga blocks.

 

“What?” Liam asked. Zayn broke out into unexplained giggles, using both hands to cover his mouth in a failed attempt to suppress them. “I’m so confused. Why are you giggling like a little kid? It is cute as hell but I don’t know where it is coming from.” When Zayn didn’t answer and proceeded to laugh out loud, his eyes crinkling up into half-moon shapes and his nose scrunching up, Liam stopped trying to understand and just admired the little omega who looked so happy.

 

It had been so long since Zayn had looked this happy and content Liam had almost forgotten how he looked like this. Yes, there were still fading bruises on his face and neck, his lip still had a tiny scab where it had been busted open and his cheekbones were still too prominent to be considered healthy. But his hair was fluffy and soft without any trace of product; he was dressed in a pair of grey baggy joggers with thick striped socks and a large long-sleeved white shirt that came over his hands, giving him the most adorable sweater paws imaginable. The clothes were all too big on him, but instead of making him appear underweight, it made him look comfy and relaxed. There was a sparkle back in his eye. To Liam it looked like he had been dead inside for so long and finally there was a spark of life to him again. It was wonderful.

 

Liam couldn’t help himself when he said, “Okay if you are not going to tell me why you are laughing, I will give you something to laugh about!” With that Liam playfully leapt across the pillows towards the omega and knocked him backwards onto the pillows. Liam was very careful to break Zayn’s fall, wrapping his hand around the back of his head and no laying any of his own body weight on the still frail omega. It didn’t matter that they were laying on several inches of cushioning; he was not going to allow his omega to be hurt.

 

As he was knocked back Zayn shrieked through his laughter that became uncontrollable as Liam gently dug his fingers into the omega’s arm pits and tickling him mercilessly. Liam refused to let up in his tickling until Zayn was laughing so hard there were tears running down his face and his cheeks were bright red. When Zayn started gasping for air however Liam was quick to stop his assault.

 

“Zayn! Zayn, sweetie are you okay?” Liam rushed to back off of the omega and lift him up a little so that he could breathe easier. “Oh my God Z! I’m so sorry! Please forgive me! I shouldn’t’ve,”

 

Liam didn’t get to finish his statement as he was suddenly shoved over onto his back and his hips were straddled by the omega who only moments before was struggling to breathe. Zayn wasted no time in gathering both of Liam’s hands in one of his own and pinning them above the alpha’s head. Zayn then began dancing his fingers under the alpha’s arms and all down his sides. Liam’s worry was quickly forgotten has he began squirming to try and get away from the relentless tickling from the sneaky omega.

 

Liam could have easily overpowered Zayn but he quite enjoyed seeing the omega so full of delight so he allowed him to continue his tickle torture. In between his laughs Liam said, “You donut! You had me really worried!”

 

Zayn attempted to say, “Sorry Leeyum,” but what mostly came out were more giggles.

 

After a few more minutes of play wrestling, which Liam let Zayn win; the two settled down. Zayn looked a little winded and was breathing quite hard. Liam fetched him a bottle of water to drink and insisted on checking his ribs which were still healing just to make sure that they were alright even though Zayn insisted that he felt fine. Zayn had still refused to tell Liam what had started his giggle fit and had finally settled on playing Clue.

 

Forty minutes later Zayn determined that Professor Plum committed murder in the Kitchen with a candlestick. Zayn wanted to play Scrabble next but Liam vetoed it stating that he had enough trouble with his vocabulary, but promised that they would play it some other time with two of the other boys. This time they settled on Monopoly. Liam played as the car and Zayn as the dog.

 

They played for two hours before finally calling it a draw. Liam had Park Place and Boardwalk, along with all the orange and red properties. Zayn had managed to get all four railroads and all the yellow and green properties. The rest were split up between them. It got to the point where they were just trading money back and forth landing on each other’s properties and no one was going to bankrupt the other. When all was said and done and all the money had been counted Liam had won by less than $200, so it was a pretty fair game.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn cleaned up the game while Liam made a quick meal of macaroni and cheese. They ate with Zayn cuddled up to Liam’s side, Liam alternating between feeding himself and Zayn with a fork; Zayn’s own spoon lying forgotten on the tray. When they were done Liam cleaned the dishes while Zayn excused himself to use the restroom. When he came back downstairs he found that that alpha had Jenga set up on the coffee table ready to play. He couldn’t help but giggle again.

 

“What are you giggling at?” Liam exclaimed again. When Zayn still refused to answer, only smiling his crooked grin in response Liam shook his head. “I swear, 99% of the time I have no idea what is going on.”

 

The first few pieces came out easily enough. Liam was reaching for his fourth piece and Zayn saw it before he did and bit his lip to keep the smile that was threatening to form contained. Liam got the piece out and as he was getting ready to place it on top he saw the writing on it.

 

Liam brought the piece closer to his face to read the tiny script and to see the drawn on characters. Zayn knew the moment that it clicked in Liam’s mind. Liam squealed flinging the piece from his grasp and it promptly flew into the tower, knocking it down and showering pieces all over the table and the floor.

 

“Eeewwww!! Oh my God, eeewwwww! Where is the soap?! I need to wash my hands. I need to wash out my eyes! Ugh!!”

 

Zayn could not physically contain himself, he fell to his back on the floor rolling with laughter. He wrapped his arms around his tummy and clutched at himself, the picture of pure glee.

 

“You knew about that?! That is what you have been giggling over this whole time!” Liam accused. Zayn was laughing so hard he was gasping for air and could only nod. “You knew that Harry had Sex Jenga and you let me play it? Ugh Zayn!”

 

Zayn continued to roll laughing hysterically while Liam continued to whip his hands off on his jeans in disgust. Finally when the omega was able to take a breath without expelling it in more giggles he explained, “Louis and I made it for Harry for his 17th birthday. Lou wrote the actions on the pieces and I did the drawings. Harry never said anything about it so I figured that he never played it. I’m sure Tommo would have said something about it eventually but I think he forgot all about it. I had too until I saw you with the box!”

 

“Ugh ugh ugh! Of course you and Tommo would come up with something like that,” Liam said.

 

“If it makes you feel better I doubt that Harry ever played with it so it probably was never used for that purpose.”

 

“But still… it was shocking to see. And that drawing was graphic.”

 

Zayn burst into another fit of giggles, this time Liam joining in because Zayn’s laugh was always contagious and it was pretty funny.

 

“All right are you ready to play something else?”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Liam and Zayn played one game each of Disney Scene It and Disney Scene It 2, each winning a game before the omega began feeling a twinge in his ribs. He had been doing a lot of laughing today, and his bandages had come loose. When he told Liam, the alpha rushed to get him more pain killers and suggested that they go upstairs to re-secure the bandages. It was about time for the other boys to get home anyway.

 

Zayn leaned on Liam with his arm around the alphas shoulders while Liam held the omega around his waist as they ascended the steps. Liam got Zayn sat down on the edge of the bed and went to get fresh bandages both for his ribs and for the bite mark on his neck; it had been left uncovered all day and it was time to cover it back up with ointment to help it heal.

 

Liam helped Zayn remove his shirt and switched out the bandages. Zayn’s ribs felt much better with fresh tight bandages; he breathed a sigh of relief. He had not realized how sore it was until after it was fixed.

 

Liam then leaned forward to apply antiseptic to the bite mark, getting close to see what he was doing. Zayn was hit with a scent as Liam leaned in close to him. It was faint but there. The omega couldn’t quite place it. The scent was musky yet sweet; Zayn leaned closer to Liam and sniffed again. It hit Zayn like a truck and something switched off in his mind.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Liam noticed that Zayn had leaned into his neck and sniffed him deeply. Suddenly Zayn stiffened. Before Liam can even process what is happening Zayn is shoving him away and dropping to his knees on the floor, hands clawing at Liam’s jeans.

 

“Zayn! Zayn what are you doing?” Liam yelled in surprise.

 

Zayn didn’t answer; he had a wild look in in eyes. Using strength that Liam didn’t even know that he had, the omega pushed Liam up against the wall and crawled forward, nimble fingers unbuttoning his pants and pulling down his zipper.

 

“Zayn stop!” Liam shouted. Liam tried to push Zayn off of him, but the omega was relentless in trying to get to him. Using one hand Zayn fended off the alpha’s hands trying to push him away and using the other he pulled Liam’s dick from his pants and immediately sucked him down to the base, his nose resting in the alphas coarse pubic hair.

 

Liam didn’t want it to happen. Something was dreadfully wrong for Zayn to be doing this. They had just discussed it two days prior and Zayn himself had said that he wasn’t ready to mate with them. There was no way he was ready for any type of sexual relationship. But here he was, sucking Liam down as far as he could. Liam didn’t want his body to respond to the stimulation, but it did anyway. Even broken and bruised Zayn was beautiful; and he currently had Liam’s cock in his mouth sucking vigorously. The sensation caused Liam to stop fighting the omega against his will and gasp as he felt his dick quickly harden.

 

It only took a matter of moments for Liam to be completely hard, the tip of his dick hitting the back of the omega’s throat. Zayn was soon gagging along his length. Liam felt his mind go foggy with pleasure but fought it off knowing that he had to put a stop to this.

 

“Zayn stop, why are you doing this? Stop please! Zayn!”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The interview had gone quite well if the boys did say so themselves. They had been allowed to hang out while some of the editing for the show was done and had met a few fans afterwards. It was a good day but they were eager to get home and see how Liam and Zayn were doing.

 

They entered the front door and Paul changed the security code before leaving. The boys didn’t see Liam and Zayn downstairs so they figured that they must be upstairs. As the boys climbed up the stairs they heard a muffled commotion. Then they heard Liam’s voice, “Zayn stop, why are you doing this? Stop please! Zayn!”

 

The boys quickly rushed up the remaining steps and ran into the large bedroom at the end of the hall. They were shocked at what they saw.

 

Zayn was on his knees with his face pressed into Liam’s groin. Liam was against the wall and appeared to be trying to push the smaller omega off of him. They could hear Zayn making choking and gagging noises as he swallowed the alpha’s cock.

 

“What the fuck is going on!?” Louis exclaimed.

 

“Help! Get him off! I don’t know what happened!” Liam cried. Liam’s face was pale except for bright red splotches on his cheeks.

 

Louis, Harry, and Niall rushed forward. Harry and Niall grabbing Zayn and attempting to pull him away from Liam, but Zayn only burrowed himself farther onto Liam’s cock. There were tears running freely down his face and his skin from his hairline to halfway down his chest was bright red from exertion. He was literally choking himself on Liam’s cock, blocking off his own airways.

 

It took the combined efforts of both Niall and Harry to drag the omega away from Liam. As soon as they did and his mouth was free Zayn began shouting, growling, and snarling at them. He fought against them with all he had trying to get back to Liam.

 

Meanwhile, as soon as Liam was free of the omega, Louis had him pinned up against the wall with his forearm against his throat yelling in his face. “What is going on? What did you do to him?”

 

“I didn’t I swear! I was getting ready to bandage his bite mark! He leaned in to sniff me then he just attacked me! I don’t know what happened!” As soon as the shock dissipated Liam began crying and looked away from Louis who was still just inches from his face and looked to where Harry and Niall were still trying to contain Zayn. “Is he okay? Oh God please tell me he is okay! I couldn’t get him off me, I tried I swear I did,” Liam continued to sob.

 

Harry and Niall continued to try and subdue the struggling omega. He was small and frail but he was a fighter. Finally the pair were able to pull him across the room to the opposite wall. Harry pulled the omega to the floor and positioned him with Zayn’s back to his chest. Harry grabbed each of Zayn’s hands and forcefully wrapped both his and Zayn’s arms around the omegas chest, then using his long legs, he wrapped himself around Zayn using his legs to pin Zayn’s own up to his chest in the fetal position. Zayn was unable to really move but continued to struggle and yell.

 

Niall had received some scratches to his arms and neck from the struggle, but he kneeled down in front of the pair to try and calm Zayn. Niall ran his hands down Zayn’s face trying to get the omega to look at him, but Zayn only had eyes for Liam… or rather Liam’s cock.

 

“Lou! We can’t calm him down he is going to hurt himself! What do we do?” Harry huffed. It was taking all of his strength to keep Zayn pinned against himself.

 

Louis looked back and forth between Liam and the other three struggling boys, clearly torn about helping Harry and Niall contain Zayn and protecting him from Liam who may be a threat.

 

“For God’s sake Lou! He was trying to get Zayn off of him! He is not a threat!” Niall yelled. Louis considered that for a moment before letting Liam go.

 

“Liam, go downstairs.” Liam quickly obeyed without question, stumbling to the door.

 

With Liam out of the room Louis hoped that Zayn could be calmed. He kneeled down next to the others and began running his fingers through Zayn’s thick hair cooing softly at him. “It’s okay baby, calm down. You’re okay now.”

 

Instead of having a calming effect though Zayn only got more worked up. The flush of his skin was traveling down his arms and Harry could feel the heat of it radiating from his stomach.

 

“Is he in heat?” Niall asked nervously.

 

“No. This isn’t a heat. I don’t know what this is,” Louis stated bluntly. “We have to calm him down, he is going to hurt himself.”

 

Zayn continued to struggle and began sobbing. He was mumbling broken words that the alphas could not understand as he fought with everything he had. It didn’t take long before he was hyperventilating in Harry’s arms.

 

“Zayn you have to calm down,” Louis tried to urge, but his voice broke showcasing his own growing hysteria.

 

“Louis you have to do it,” Harry grunted.

 

“No I can’t.”

 

“Yes you can. You are the only one that can do it. You are our leader.”

 

“No. Look what happened last time, he still bares the mark!” Louis exclaimed.

 

“It isn’t the same mate,” Niall said. “You will do it proper and heal him the way a responsible alpha should. You have to protect him.”

 

Louis looked at the struggling omega and contemplated how this scenario could play out. He eyed the nasty looking bite wound that was still very much visible on his neck.

 

“Now Louis!” Harry shouted.

 

Louis closed his eyes and sent out a silent prayer that he was making the right decision, then leapt forward and attached his mouth to the side of Zayn’s neck, just above the bite mark left from the alpha twin and sunk his teeth into the soft flesh there. As soon as Zayn felt the pressure of the alphas teeth sinking into his skin he doubled his efforts to escape, his renewed efforts catching Harry off guard allowing him to be able to thrash about more before Harry could contain him again.

 

Louis could feel Zayn’s skin rip and tear underneath his teeth. It made him nauseated but he forced himself to sink his teeth in harder, he had to force Zayn to submit, more damage would be caused if he backed off now.

 

Slowly Zayn’s struggles slowed and faded. Louis did not let up until he felt Zayn go pliant under him. Harry was able to loosen his grip on the omega, breathing a sigh of relief. Louis pulled away and gasped at the fresh bite mark on the omega. It was not a clean bite, the edges torn raw. There was thin trails of blood running from the wound and it looked painful. Louis felt himself get light headed.

 

“Louis, it’s okay. You have to heal him. You can do this,” Niall encouraged.

 

Louis nodded, still in a daze over the damage that he had caused on the omega’s skin. Without a word he leaned forward and began licking at the wound, his saliva speeding the healing process. It took several minutes to heal due to how damaged the skin was. The whole time Niall and Harry were whispering encouraging words to Zayn, telling him that everything was going to be okay and that he was a good boy. Niall was also rubbing his hand up and down Louis’ spine, knowing that Zayn wasn’t the only one in need of comfort.

 

When he was done, Louis wordlessly stood up on shaking legs and slowly made his way out of the room and downstairs, leaving Harry and Niall to clean Zayn up on their own. He just could not be there right now.

 

He had hurt his omega. He had to; the rational part of his brain knew that. Louis was protecting Zayn. But still, he had damaged his omega’s skin marking him, however briefly. Louis made his way downstairs without ever consciously deciding to do so. He was distraught. He made his way into the living room where he was faced with a distressed and agitated Liam.

 

“Lou! Is he okay? Lou what happened?”

 

Louis voice was monotone when he replied, “I had to bite him. Li, I had to, there wasn’t another choice. I didn’t want to…” At that point Louis couldn’t continue and broke down into sobs. His mind was still racing with the picture of Zayn’s torn skin seemingly embedded in his retinas. Louis felt his stomach heave and soon was on his knees retching on the floor.

 

“Oh Lou!” Liam cried and rushed over to his fellow alpha. The two clung to each other as they cried.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Niall wanted to go after Louis when he left but knew that he couldn’t. Right now Louis would have to wait; though hopefully Liam was still downstairs and they could offer each other the comfort that they both desperately needed. For now Niall and Harry had to take care of Zayn.

 

Zayn’s body was tacky with sweat and undoubtedly sore. Niall made his way to the loo and ran a bath while Harry manhandled Zayn out of his remaining clothes and bandages. Harry removed his own clothes and then picked Zayn up bridal style and carried him to the tub. Harry stepped in and settled down into the warm water; Niall helping him maneuver Zayn so that his back was again against Harry’s chest. Together they washed the omega, softly scrubbing the sweat, blood and tears from his skin. Harry gently massaged the omega’s scalp with shampoo then worked his way down his neck to his shoulders, being sure to work out the muscles around the bite mark so they wouldn’t be sore in the morning. The skin around the bite Louis had made was closed, leaving behind a pink mark that would fade completely in a couple of days.

 

When they were done, Harry and Niall got Zayn out of the water and dried him off and got him dressed in loose fitting shorts and a vest. It was made more difficult due to Zayn being limp in their arms. Zayn was still conscious, just dazed and out of it. The alphas were able to coax some water into him, being careful to make sure that he swallowed without choking. They then laid the omega out on the bed and covered him in blankets, cooing at him softly until he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So tell me what you think! What happened to Zayn? How are Liam and Louis going to cope? What will Zayn do in the morning? 
> 
> I have just recently made a new twitter and tumblr... so please follow me!! I would love to hear from you. 
> 
> Twitter: @WrennAddysen  
> Tumblr: wrennaddysen
> 
> On another note, I got sunburned really bad three days ago and can hardly move. I have little blisters all over my shoulders and can't raise my arms above my head. I hope it stops hurting soon because I have to work in two days and can't bare to have anything touching my shoulders... so moral of the story... always wear sunscreen, especially if you are super pale like me and haven't spent any significant time outside in years... 
> 
> Anyways, I love hearing from you! Let me know your thoughts!! As always thanks for reading!!


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't as long as I thought that it was going to be... maybe because I rushed. I didn't want to leave you all with such a bad taste in your mouths (so to speak) for very long... and I may have promised ZeeThorn an update today. So you can thank her for this update by checking out her awesome fic "I will stand by you - so why let your voice be tamed?"
> 
> :o)

Harry was the first to wake when morning sunlight began filtering through the window. He looked around himself and found Zayn sleeping peacefully curled around his pillow. The omega’s dark hair had dried during the night and was curling slightly at the ends, with his fringe falling over his forehead into his closed eyes.

 

He looked so soft and so unlike he did the night before. Zayn had looked possessed, it was quite frightening. Harry knew that they would have to get to the bottom of this soon so that the situation was never repeated.

 

Niall was lying on his back on the bed on the other side of Zayn, far enough away to not be touching the omega. Together they had held Zayn as he drifted off to sleep but had moved away before falling asleep themselves. They didn’t know what had caused Zayn’s behavior and were being precautious.

 

Harry decided to go in search of Louis and Liam whom he hadn’t seen since they both fled the bedroom the night before. Harry silently made his way downstairs and found both boys curled around each other on the make-shift nest that was still sprawled across the living room floor. Even while sleeping bags could be seen under their eyes and both of their faces were splotchy with faint traces of tears that had dried on their cheeks. Harry sighed at the sight then went to make tea; he knew that they were going to need it.

 

A few minutes later Harry was carrying a tray with three cups of tea into the living room and setting it down on the coffee table. “Liam. Lou. Wake up, I made tea,” he said gently shaking each of them in turn.

 

Louis grumbled a bit before opening his eyes and looking at Harry. Liam rubbed a hand over his face before he even opened his eyes. Liam looked around obviously disoriented at finding himself in the living room instead of in their bedroom. The moment the events from the night before surface in his mind he jerks up into a sitting position, jostling Louis who had been using his chest for a pillow, and said anxiously, “Zayn? How is he? Is he okay? Where is he?”

 

“He is sleeping still, Niall is with him. I honestly don’t know how he is; he was pretty out of it, you know… after,” Harry explained with a guilty cringe. “Liam, what happened?”

 

“I don’t know. I swear. We had a great day yesterday. We played board games all day, we laughed, we wrestled around a bit, and it was great. By the way mate… you need to check out your Jenga game, I think I’m traumatized, but anyway it was just awesome. I haven’t seen Zayn look that open and animated in a long time. He was a fit of giggles. It was beautiful. Then he said that his ribs were sore so I got him some painkillers and helped him upstairs to change his bandages. Just like I said last night, I figured that I would wrap up his bite mark while I was at it… it had been off all day airing out. I was putting the ointment on it and he leaned in and sniffed my neck. Before I knew what was happening he had shoved me to the wall and dropped to his knees and was clawing at my pants. I tried to stop him. He caught me off guard and he was so frantic I couldn’t push him off. I was afraid that I would hurt him. He just kept coming at me and I didn’t know what to do!” Liam had to stop talking then. The whole while he was explaining his voice kept going higher and began shaking. By the time he was done there were fresh tears running down his face and his chest was so tight that he could hardly draw a breath in.

 

“It’s okay Liam, we believe you. Take a deep breath,” Harry coaxed pulling Liam into a tight hug. Louis quickly followed, piling onto the hug and gripping the other boys’ shirts tightly in his fists.

 

Harry buried his nose in Liam’s neck and took a whiff of the alpha’s scent. Liam stiffened then recoiled, bombarded by the memories of the last time that he had been scented and what it had led to.

 

Harry pulled back with a frown etched on his face. “Liam… when is your rut due?”

 

“Not for another two weeks. Why?” Liam asked clearly confused by the direction change in the conversation.

 

“You smell like your rut.”

 

“What? No I don’t. I would feel it if I was on my rut,” Liam said.

 

“No it is really faint… but it is there. Like you will start soon, maybe late tonight or tomorrow.”

 

Louis immediately jumped forward and scented Liam as well. “Harry’s right. Could that have anything to do with what happened?” Louis said looking between the two of them.

 

Liam looked doubtful. “How could it? You can both barley smell it on me know; Zayn would have had to have been able to smell it hours ago. There’s no way.”

 

“Yeah I guess you’re right,” Louis conceded. “It just seems like a weird coincidence.”

 

“I’m kinda weirded out by my rut coming so early though. It is never off by more than a couple of days.”

 

“Are you sure that you kept track of it correctly?” Louis asked. Liam didn’t respond, just shot him a condescending glare; like Liam would ever be that irresponsible. “All right, all right, I get it Daddy Direction, I was just asking. You’re on scent neutralizers, how can we smell the rut anyway? Is it still working?”

 

Liam rolled his eyes, “Of course you wouldn’t read the drug warnings… the neutralizers will mask our alpha scent, but it won’t dull the scent of a rut, it is too strong.”

 

“Well why do I have to read the warnings when I know you will do it for me?” Louis sassed.

 

“Li, I hate to say this,” Harry started looking guiltily at him and ignoring Louis entirly. “but you know you can’t stay here for your rut. In fact I think that you should leave before Zayn wakes up. We don’t want any chance of a repeat of last night.”

 

Liam sighs, “Yeah I know. I think I’ll still be able to go out with Niall and whichever of you two is not staying with Z today; at least for part of the day.”

 

“Okay, if you think you’re up for it. Louis you should go get in the shower; you slept next to Liam last night and we don’t want Zayn to smell him on you. Liam, I’ll get you a bag with some clothes and stuff to take to a hotel,” Harry said.

 

With that Louis headed up to one of the guest loos, not wanting to risk walking by the omega and waking him up. Harry headed to the bedroom and found Niall awake and watching Zayn sleep. Niall looked up when Harry entered and asked, “Liam and Louis?”

 

“Lou’s heading for the shower and I’m packing a bag for Liam to go stay at a hotel.” Niall’s face contorted in shock and anguish, but before he could say anything Harry continued, “Li smells very faintly of his rut, he is just leaving until it is over. He said that he would still go out today with you and whoever Z doesn’t choose today.”

 

Niall visibly relaxed knowing that Liam hadn’t been banished from the house. “Do you think…”

 

“No,” Harry said quickly. “We could barely smell it; there is no way that Z would have been able to tell hours ago. Still no idea what happened.”

 

Harry finished getting the bag around and took it down to Liam who was waiting by the door having already called Paul to let him know what had happened and what the new plans were. Harry hugged Liam tightly and sent him on his way before cleaning up the living room, throwing the blankets in the wash and going upstairs and showering himself to make sure that Liam’s scent could not be detected.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Louis and Harry joined Niall when it was time to wake the omega. They didn’t know what was going to happen and all three were anxiously feeling like they were walking on pins and needles. Niall and Harry took positions sitting on the bed on either side of the sleeping boy while Louis stayed at the foot of the bed looking decidedly nervous.

 

“Zayn, sweetie, it’s time to wake up now love,” Harry coaxed.

 

It took a few minutes but eventually they got the omega to open his eyes and look around. When his eyes settled on Louis his body stiffened as the events of the previous night flashed through his mind, then he whipped his head around the room again searching.

 

“Zayn, it’s okay,” Niall started, but it was no use. Already the omega’s breathing was picking up speed and intensity.

 

“Liam…? Oh my God… LIAM!” Zayn’s hands began shaking as he noticed that the alpha was not in the room.

 

“Zayn, we need you to stay calm. Liam had to leave for a little while. Everything is okay,” Niall said soothingly, but Zayn would not be soothed.

 

“No! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Oh my God!” Zayn was quickly working himself up into an anxiety attack.

 

Harry wasted no time in springing into action. The alpha quickly moved closer to the omega and grabbed his face in his large hands. “Zayn. I want you to look at me. Look in my eyes now.” Harry gently forced Zayn’s face towards him and waited until the omega’s eyes met his own. “I need you to stay calm. I promise you that everything is going to be okay and we will talk about this, but in order to do that I need to know that you will not panic. You panicking right now is not going to help anything, so I need you to stay focused on me.” Zayn didn’t try to argue so Harry continued, “I need you to take a deep breath,” Zayn did as instructed, “now let it out,” again Zayn complied.

 

When Zayn’s breathing was back under control, Harry let go of his face and backed off a little bit, giving the omega a little bit of space.

 

Niall thought it was okay to move on, “Sweetie, why did you say that you were sorry?”

 

Tears began to pool in the omega’s eyes as he turned to the blonde alpha but he managed to keep his breathing calm. “I don’t want him to hate me,” he said as the tears spilled over his eyelids and ran slowly down his face.

 

“Oh baby, Liam could never hate you,” Niall said.

 

“Yes he does. I know he does!” Zayn said his voice rising.

 

Niall shushed him while inquiring, “Why do you think that Zayn?”

 

Zayn didn’t answer right away. He hung his head not looking at the others and whispered quietly, “Because I hate them.” Before any of the alphas could respond Zayn continued, “They raped me and I hate them, and last night I raped Liam so he has to hate me.”

 

Zayn continued to cry silently, not looking up from his lap where he was picking at his fingernails. It was shitty to think it but the alphas were a little bit proud. Zayn has never before admitted to being raped, not even in his journal. He had always referred to it as being serviced. Zayn finally admitting to himself and to them that the actions were rape was progress in him understanding that what happened to his was wrong. They were just sorry that it had to happen like this.

 

Louis had been silent up until this point. He had been worried that Zayn would be even more fearful of him now than he was before, and maybe he was, but right now he was distressed over Liam the most. Louis stepped forward and sat down on the bed beside Niall.

 

“Zayn? Will you look at me now?” Louis asked. Zayn flitted his eyes up before quickly averting them again. With a little more coaxing Louis was able to keep the omega’s eye. “I promise you that Liam is not mad at you.” Zayn scoffed. “I’m serious. I was with him all night and he never, not even once, said or did anything that even slightly indicated that he was angry at you in anyway.”

 

“He’s right Z,” Harry continued. “When I went downstairs this morning to wake him, the first thing out of his mouth was him asking if you were okay.”

 

“But I raped him, just like those alphas did to me! I’m a monster!”

 

“Shhh, Zayn, shhh,” Louis said. “You are not a monster and it was not ‘just like’ what those alphas did to you. What happened last night shouldn’t have happened, and it can’t happen again, but you are not a monster and none of us hate you, least of all Liam.”

 

Zayn continued to cry and rock back and forth, slowly working his hands into his hair he started tugging. Niall saw what the omega was doing and without saying anything carefully took the omega’s hands in his own, prying them out of his hair and squeezed them.

 

“Why did Liam leave then? Is he ever coming back?” Zayn whispered so quietly the others almost didn’t hear.

 

“Of course he is coming back,” Niall reassured. “Liam smelled of his rut, it is coming early so he is staying at a hotel until it is over. The neutralizers that we are on won’t cover the scent of a rut and he didn’t want to cause you any more distress.”

 

“Neutralizers? What neutralizers?”

 

“Ever since you were in the hospital we have been using neutralizers because the scent of alpha would upset you… you didn’t know?” Louis asked with a frown.

 

In truth Zayn hadn’t known. He guessed that he should have, he remembers smelling Paul when he came in the house after he fell down the stairs, and he remembers having something rubbed under his nose when he left the hospital, and when he had woken up in the hospital… they must have been in there then too. Now that he thinks about it, it should have been obvious but he never made the connection. “Oh,” is all he can say in response.

 

Harry jumped back into the conversation saying, “It isn’t that we are against a sexual relationship with you. We told you that we love you and we want to be with you, that has not changed and it will not change, but not like that. You were clearly distraught last night. Liam said that he didn’t know what happened. Can you tell us?”

 

Zayn thought back for a few minutes. He remembered smelling something on Liam. Then he remembered the voices. The voices telling him that He needed to pleasure the alpha, that if he didn’t he would be beaten, and hurt, maybe even killed. The voices were screaming in his head forcing all rational thought out of his mind. His body just reacted. He didn’t really feel anything that he can remember; it was almost like he was a bystander watching it happen. Zayn couldn’t really explain it adequately to himself, let alone try to explain it to the alphas that were patiently awaiting his response. So instead of trying he shook his head and muttered, “I don’t really remember. I don’t know what happened.”

 

Zayn didn’t know if the others bought it but the only thing that was said about it was a reassuring “okay” from Louis.

 

The four of them sat there on the bed like that for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally Niall broke the silence, “Sweetie, who do you want to stay with you today?”

 

Zayn chanced a quick glance over both Harry and Louis before lowering his head again and mumbling, “Harry.”

 

Zayn didn’t see the pitying looks that both Niall and Harry shot at Louis afterwards.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Louis shouldn’t have been surprised. He really shouldn’t have been, and he shouldn’t have been hurt either. Someone was going to be chosen last, it was inevitable. After last night, and having to bite Zayn, even if it was for his own good and to protect him, he certainly should have known that it was going to be him. But he was still surprised and hurt. He and Zayn were always ‘partners in crime’ always goofing off and causing mayhem. Well they had been a long time ago, but then everything changed and he hadn’t even realized it.

 

He was a shit friend.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Soon after Niall and Liam left the house Harry convinced Zayn to accompany him to the kitchen. Zayn’s body was still quite knackered but Harry just picked him up and set him down on the counter, insisting that he would work around the omega. Harry was a good cook and Zayn quite liked to dabble in the kitchen as well so Harry figured that it would be a safe way to spend the day.

 

Zayn said that he was craving samosas so Harry got all the ingredients out and started work on the pastry dough, leaving Zayn to measure out all the spices for the filling. When everything was prepared, together they worked on putting them all together. They only fried up a small portion of what they made to eat then as neither had had any breakfast yet. The result was delicious and Zayn was soon licking his fingers clean and humming happily to himself. The rest of the stuffed pastries were stored in the fridge to be fried later so that they would be fresh when Louis and Niall got home. Zayn made sure that there was enough to have sent to Liam at the hotel as well.

 

After they were done with the samosas were packed away and their mess cleaned up, Harry said that he wanted to make fajitas for the following day. So Harry set Zayn up with a cutting board, knife and vegetables to start chopping while he himself worked on preparing the meats, both chicken and steak. When all prepared the fajita ingredients were put in the fridge so that they could be cooked the next day.

 

Now it was time for dessert. Zayn had decided that they should have Neapolitan cupcakes, with a mix of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry frostings, and who was Harry to argue? There was no way that they would eat three batches of cupcakes… well with Niall maybe they could… but anyway it would be a nice treat for the security details that have been outside the house since they got there.

 

The boys got started with the batters, Zayn cracking the eggs and somehow managing to get shell in the bowl and used his fingers to dig it out of the gooey substance. Once he got it out he had nowhere to wipe his hands so as discreetly as possible he reached over and rubbed Harry’s shoulder until his hands were clean. Harry was none the wiser.

 

Harry and Zayn both tasted the batters to make sure that each flavor was strong enough then they began spooning the mixtures into paper lined cupcake pans. Each cupcake had a spoonful of each batter and before they were put in the oven Zayn swirled a toothpick in it to mix them together.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The original plan was for the alphas to go out and meet with fans, but after Liam thought about it some more he didn’t want to risk his rut full on starting when he was surrounded by fans that were mostly omegas and betas. He knew that he would never hurt anyone, even when his mind was clouded over by a rut but there was no reason to risk it. Add that to Louis feeling a little sorry for himself and they were just not in the right mindset to go face to face with fans today.

 

So instead, Louis and Niall went to Liam’s hotel room to spend the day with him. They played some video games for a bit and when they got bored they watched a movie. It was odd just sitting around and acting normal with just the three of them. They already missed Harry and Zayn and didn’t feel complete without them.

 

It was Niall’s idea. The boys hadn’t done a video diary in years and the fans still deserved something for how awesome they were to the boys. The thing was though, that it didn’t feel right to have an actual video diary with only 60% of the group there. So instead the boys set up a twit cam. It had been too long for that as well.

 

Each of the boys sent out a tweet with the link, and then they began.  

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Then it was time for the frosting. This is what Zayn was looking forward to the most, he had a bit of a sweet tooth and the frosting is always the best part of any cake. Harry had Zayn operate the mixer while he added the ingredients.

 

When they had finished all three frostings, Harry dipped his finger into the chocolate and got a large blob. When Zayn turned away, the alpha quickly reached out and smeared it down the side of his face. Zayn turned around, his mouth falling open with an indignant look on his face.

 

“That was for wiping egg on my shirt, you menace.” Zayn’s shocked look faded into guilty in a heartbeat. “That’s right, I knew what you were doing; I was just biding my time,” Harry said with a beaming smile.

 

Not one to be outdone, Zayn dug his fingers into the strawberry frosting and giving Harry a pink mustache. Before they knew it there was an all-out frosting war going on in the kitchen accompanied by boisterous laughter and giggling as frosting went everywhere. It only stopped when Harry had another large dollop of chocolate on his finger that he was trying to plop onto the tip of Zayn’s nose. Harry had both of Zayn’s hands lightly pinned in one of his and Zayn reacted on instinct, capturing Harry’s finger in his mouth and licking off the chocolate before it could be smeared on his face.

 

As soon as Harry’s finger was in his mouth and his tongue was licking around it though, Zayn froze. He could not believe that he had just done that. Judging by Harry’s baffled expression; he could not believe it either. Suddenly Zayn was scared. What would Harry do? Sucking on someone’s finger was inherently sexual… but in no way did Zayn mean it to be.

 

Harry was quick to school his features, “It’s okay, forget about it. Doesn’t mean anything, we are just playing.” Harry let go of the omega’s wrists that he had still been holding and pulled Zayn into a tight hug. They stayed like that for a few minutes just breathing each other in. When they pulled away from each other, Harry looked at the omega with a serious expression.

 

“Zayn, how did you get that bite?”

 

The omega bit his lip, a nervous habit that he had had for as long as Harry has known him, but didn’t respond. “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, I just wondered.”

 

Zayn looked into Harry’s green eyes then. His eyes were so pretty, deep dark green around the edges and mossy green in the middle, with flecks of blue and grey mixed throughout. Zayn didn’t find any judgement in the alpha’s eyes, only concern and curiosity. Sometimes it was hard to remember that Harry was the youngest of the group, he sometimes seems like the most mature out of the bunch.

 

“One of the twins, David, was trying to shove his dick in my mouth. I was hurt and scared, I didn’t consciously do it, but I bit him.”

 

Harry gasped and despite the unsettling image that flashed in his head he felt a wave of pride. “You bit his cock?”

 

Zayn shuddered, “Yeah. In retaliation his brother bit me. It was horrible, and it hurt so much. He growled so loud and rough, I felt it vibrate through my whole body, rattling my bones.”

 

They sat in silence for a bit, letting the words settle around them. Finally Harry spoke again. “You know that Louis didn’t bite you last night to punish you don’t you? He was trying to protect you. You were out of control; I could barely hang on to you. We were afraid that you were going to hurt yourself, or inadvertently hurt us. He did what he had to do.”

 

“Yeah, I know. Everything is kinda fuzzy but I remember. It didn’t hurt when Louis did it.”

 

“It didn’t?” Harry asked. He had always been under the impression that it would hurt quite a bit, that being why it always worked.

 

“Not in comparison to when Dillion did it. I mean it hurt a little at first, it broke the skin and all, and I know that it was worse because I fought it. But after I stopped fighting it, I just felt an overwhelming sense of calm and love. It was weirdly pleasant.”

 

Harry smiled gently; he was happy with Zayn’s explanation and glad that it wasn’t an all horrible experience. “You should talk to Louis about it tomorrow. He is really worried. He felt awful. He was a right mess after.”

 

“Okay Alpha,” Zayn said with a smirk, laughing at Harry’s shocked expression, then rubbing a large dollop of frosting into the alpha’s ear; the heavy atmosphere lifting immediately and soon forgotten.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

By the time Louis and Niall came back home, the kitchen was free of all traces of spattered frosting, replaced instead with an impressive amount of colorful cupcakes. Niall was in heaven and grabbed one in each hand before following Louis into the living room to find Harry and Zayn curled up on the couch, both freshly showered in dressed in pajamas watching reruns of Friends.

 

Later the samosas are fried up and everyone sits down to eat at the table. Niall was still able to eat a remarkable amount despite having gorged himself on cupcakes before dinner was done.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

A couple hours after Niall and Louis leave the hotel there is a knock on his door from Paddy who has a large plate of samosas and cupcakes laden on it. Liam smiles as he sees the note on top reading “miss you! Xoxo” it was signed by all the boys. If Liam gets a little teary eyed when he reads it no one else has to know. He takes a selfie of himself taking a large bite of samosa and sends it off to the boys’ phones thanking them profusely.

 

Just a couple hours later, right before nightfall, Liam’s rut takes over.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So not everything is explained... but it is coming I promise... probably over the next two or three chapters. I have a feeling that sometime in the future I will add more to this chapter because in my mind it was a lot longer than what it turned out to be... but that is a beast to tackle on another day. 
> 
> I looked up recipes for samosas online... and I was too intimidated to even finish reading them! I'm sure they are not as hard to make as they look... but damn... I think I'll stick to tacos and macaroni and cheese. I am too picky of an eater to really try anything new. lol! 
> 
> On a more personal note... my sunburn itself is healed... I am now only dealing with scabs from where I peeled the dead skin off too early... I almost thing that is more annoying then the burn itself... ah well, live and learn. 
> 
> If there are errors... I blame them on alcohol and being distracted. I'll fix them eventually. I have been outlining 3 new fics that I will be working on in the (hopefully) near future. No more A/B/O verses, but I think they will be okay... (crosses fingers)!
> 
> Now I am going to post this then go to bed because my kitten is demanding her bedtime treats and wants to sleep on my pillow which she wont do unless I am in bed. (The little brat is lucky she is cute because she likes to reach her paw out and flip the pages on my Kindle while I am reading... :o/) 
> 
> Anyway... let me know what you think! I love to hear from you! Hope you enjoyed! Until next time!! All the love!! & Happy Days!!


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait... I got a new kitten and she has made writing difficult to say the least. Add that to work and being ill and updates just didn't happen like I wanted them too. But I am back now. 
> 
> Also, I went to the OTRA shows in both Cleveland and Detroit and they were fabulous!! I had such a good time. I hope that all of you have the chance to see the boys in concert... it is a beautiful thing!

Louis wakes up the next morning excited and just a little bit nervous. Or maybe it was nervous and a little bit excited. Or maybe equal parts nervous and excited. It is really hard to tell; all he knows is that those are the two emotions that he is feeling. Today is the day that he gets to spend with Zayn, just him and the omega. He is really hoping that he can clear the air, so to speak. He can tell that Zayn is on edge around him and it hurts knowing that. They were always so close. Of all the boys, it was their personalities that were the most similar. There is the saying, “familiarity breeds contempt,” but that had never applied to them. Zayn and Louis were equally matched in their sass, playfulness, and mischievousness. They hadn’t been coined the “partners in crime” for nothing.

 

After the X-Factor Zayn was more distant but would still join Louis in causing trouble. The pair were known for escaping their security and sneaking out while on tour. Most times they could go out and explore in the middle of the night and not be discovered. There was that one time in Australia when they got cornered by fans and had to climb onto an overhang and wait until their security found them to escort them back to the hotel. That was one hell of a lecture that they came back to. On their really good nights out they can sneak out then back into the hotel without security ever knowing. It was probably a really bad idea from safety standpoints but both of them could only take so much cabin fever.  

 

Louis misses those days and the antics that they got up to. Somewhere along the line, the subtle changes in Zayn became big changes and Louis didn’t even notice it. He never noticed that his best friend was an omega; he never noticed that he was being hurt and abused. How could someone not notice!? Louis was still so angry about everything, but he was mostly angry at himself. He had let Zayn down and he doesn’t think that he will ever forgive himself. At least after today he hopes that maybe he can get a little bit of forgiveness from Zayn.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Harry and Niall leave after breakfast with Paul for a fun filled day of shopping. Zayn thinks to himself that a shopping trip with just those two, with no buffer, would be interesting to say the least. Harry is very Saint Laurent: classy, stylish, bold prints, tight jeans, flashy boots with heals, button down shirts (that he barley buttons, really what is the point of having the buttons if he is not going to use them anyway) where Niall is sporty and comfortable. Niall is perfectly comfortable wearing basketball shorts, trainers, and a t-shirt or vest (all containing at least a little bit of bright florescent color, none of which match at all). Fancy for Niall is a t-shirt with the minimal amount of bling. Caroline has a horrible time trying to find him something that will fit with his personality and still be acceptable for awards shows. It is nothing against Niall; he just thinks that comfort is way more important than fashion. Even if they don’t go clothes shopping, Niall would be happy in a music shop looking at guitars or sporting stuff and Harry prefers second hand and antique shops. About the only thing that they have in common is golf. Nevertheless, Zayn knows that they will have fun; despite the differences in their style and interests they love each other.

 

Zayn makes sure that when they leave, they have a plate of strawberry waffles to drop off to Liam and Paddy. Paddy is staying in the same hotel as Liam until his rut is over. Everyone knew that Liam would be in no condition to eat the waffles for a while, but it made Zayn feel better knowing that they would be there for him anyway, and he was sure that Paddy would love the home cooked food, curtesy of Harry (though Zayn did help to cut up the strawberries).

 

Finally it is just Louis and Zayn in the house. Zayn hasn’t made eye contact with the alpha all morning. Louis has decided that he is most assuredly more nervous than excited at this point. They are both still sitting at the breakfast nook, nursing their cups of tea. Both are silent and lost in their own thoughts, thinking about what is going to happen that day. Neither has a plan nor seem too keen on stepping up to propose one.

 

After ten minutes of semi-tense silence their tea is gone and it is time to really start their day. Taking a deep breath Louis broke the silence. “I guess you and I should talk, yeah?”

 

Zayn glanced up, not really looking Louis in the eye, more like he peeked up through his outrageously long lashes and eyed the alpha’s chin, and shrugged his skinny shoulders.

 

“C’mon darling, let’s go sit in the living room. We can get more comfortable and relax a little more. How does that sound?” Louis asked gently. Zayn nodded and together they made their way to the couch. Louis sat down first in the middle, allowing Zayn to choose the distance between them. Zayn sat near Louis but left at least a foot of distance between them to discourage any physical contact.

 

Once they were both settled Louis decided to start the much needed conversation. “I would never hurt you, you know that right?”

 

Zayn nodded quickly but refused to make eye contact with the alpha.

 

“Please, don’t be scared,” Louis whispered.

 

“’M not scared,” the omega said quietly while simultaneously curling his shoulders in making him look even smaller than he actually is.

 

“I know that you are at least a little bit scared of me. I don’t want you to be. I want you to tell me what I can do to take away that fear,” Louis asked.

 

Zayn didn’t say anything and just kept his eyes locked on his knees. Louis saw him wringing his fingers nervously. “Please Z, I want us to be okay.”

 

“You’re mad at me,” Zayn whispered so quietly Louis almost missed it; and that is saying something as he is watching the omega closely, looking for any details in his posture that help them through this conversation.

 

“I’m not mad at you,” Louis said quickly, too quickly. Zayn finally looks up at him and the look in his eyes is incredulous to say the least.   Louis sighs, “Okay, you’re right, I am mad at you. But not really mad at you… it’s complicated. I don’t know how to explain it. God, I’m doing horribly at this aren’t I?”

 

Zayn doesn’t say anything, but Louis doesn’t think that he has to; it was more of a rhetorical question anyway. Louis scrubs his hands over his face a few times before taking a deep breath and moving to his knees on the floor. He slowly approaches the omega and sits in front of him. He carefully reached out his hand to Zayn and felt relieved when the omega didn’t shrink back from him. Louis very carefully takes both of Zayn’s hands in his own and looks up to him; Zayn wouldn’t look at his eyes but he didn’t pull away either and Louis counted that as a win.

 

“We were so close you and I,” Louis starts. “We bonded right from the get go. I thought that we told each other everything. I thought we knew all there was to know about each other. Then I find out that you’re an omega… and not just that, you are an omega who has been hurt. You were being hurt right under my nose and I didn’t know! I’m mad that you didn’t tell me Zayn. It is irrational I know. I know that you felt like you couldn’t, I know that you were only trying to protect yourself, but it hurts Z. You were trying to protect yourself from me and the other boys when we would have done anything to protect you!”

 

Zayn finally looks up from his lap, startled by the sincerity and seriousness of Louis’ tone. He is more than a little shocked to see his blue eyes blazing with tears.

 

Louis continues before he can even think to say anything. “I am mad that you were made to feel like you had to hide who you are for your own safety. I am mad that your orientation was used against you. I am mad that your parents could hurt you like they did. I am mad that you had to suffer in silence. I am mad for everything that you went through. I am mad that you almost died from violence that you never ever deserved. But most of all, I am fucking furious with myself for not noticing, or really for noticing and just accepting it, accepting you acting differently. I don’t think I will ever forgive myself for you believing that you couldn’t tell me that you were being abused.”

 

Louis is silent then, caught up in his own self-loathing thoughts.

 

“It’s not your fault. I didn’t want you or the other boys to know,” the omega said quietly.

 

“That’s the point though, in’nit?” Louis said with a self-depreciating smile. “I also can’t even begin to tell you how guilty that I am for biting you. I didn’t want to, but I didn’t know what else to do.”

 

“No, I know that. I was out of control, you did what you needed to do and I’m sorry that I fought you,” Zayn said earnestly.

 

“The last thing that I ever wanted to do was hurt you.”

 

Zayn considers for a moment before he says, “Actually, it didn’t really hurt. I mean it stung because I was fighting you, but afterwards it felt more comforting. Like I knew that you were just trying to protect me. It wasn’t anything like when I was bitten before. That hurt and it kept hurting long after. And look, your mark is almost completely healed!”

 

“That is because I sealed it after, and it wasn’t a punishing bite. It was to calm you down. But no matter what the intentions were I never wanted it to come to that. I hope that you can someday forgive me,” Louis said.

 

“Of course I forgive you.” Zayn said immediately. He didn’t really think that there was anything to forgive, but he also knew that Louis needed him to say it.

 

“I can’t make you forgive yourself,” Zayn says, “but can I do anything to get you to forgive me? I feel like saying I’m sorry wouldn’t even be close to enough for what I put you through.”

 

The alpha’s mouth dropped open in shock, “Oh baby, don’t even think about apologizing, and you don’t need to be forgiven. None of this was your fault. Don’t even think it! I know why you didn’t. You believed the lies that were being told to you, I know you did. That is not your fault.”

 

“But if I would have just trusted you…” Zayn started.

 

“But nothing. We could discuss ‘what if’ possibilities until we are blue in the face and it wouldn’t change the past. There is no point in doing so. Right now we need to look at the right now so that we can make the future better. I’m not mad at you, not _really_ , I’m mad at the situation. That being said, I want us to move on. Do you think we can do that?”

 

Zayn nods his head, “Yeah I would really like that.”

 

“Good,” Louis smiles and reaches his arms out carefully to pull the omega into a tight hug. His heart beats faster in his chest when Zayn comes willingly and almost urgently, burring his nose in Louis’ neck. Louis smiles wide and kisses Zayn on the temple.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The boys hug silently for a few minutes before deciding to spend the day playing FIFA. Louis spends the first two games trying slyly to let Zayn win but it is blown to hell when they start the third game and the omega says, “As much as I love kicking your arse, it would mean more if you were really trying to beat me.”

 

Louis gave an undignified squawk and clutched at his chest in mock offence. “You cannot be insinuating that I let you win the past two games! That would be morally wrong of me!”

 

Zayn, armed with a tongue tucked behind his teeth grin, said, “No! I would never insinuate that! I am saying that you are letting me win. No insinuating needed.”

 

Zayn wins the next game fair and square.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Louis and Zayn are curled up on the couch together later in the day having finally put away the video games. Louis was content to just spend time with Zayn, not doing anything at all, which was so unlike him that he was almost startled at himself.

 

Louis made lunch for the two of them. It was nothing fancy, he didn’t want to burn the place down or anything, so he figured he would stay well away from the stove. But sandwiches, they were in his wheelhouse. He could handle sandwiches and crisps, if he did say so himself.

 

Louis was carding his fingers through the omega’s hair after they were done with their food when Zayn said, “Can I ask you a question Lou?”

 

“Of course you can babe, what is it?”

 

“Why have you guys kept taking care of me?”

 

“Because we love you darling, we told you that already,” Louis said more than a little confused by the question.

 

“No, I mean, I know that, but why have you been, like, babying me? I get like when we first got here, I wasn’t in the best state, physically I mean, but I’ve gotten better and stronger. Most of my bruises are healed and my ribs aren’t hurting very much at all anymore. So why are you still, like cooking for me, and helping me bathe and stuff?” Zayn’s face flushed slightly.

 

“Does it bother you?” Louis asked curiously.

 

“No,” Zayn said quickly. “I was just wondering I guess. I thought that you would have stopped by now, it must be annoying by now.”

 

“No Zayn, it is not annoying at all. We like caring for you. And even if we didn’t, you need aftercare.”

 

Zayn turned and looked at Louis, his brow furrowed. “Aftercare?”

 

“Yeah, aftercare. Especially after all you went through.”

 

“What is aftercare?”

 

Louis gapped at Zayn. “You don’t know what aftercare is?”

 

Zayn felt himself blush with shame and embarrassment, this was apparently something that he should know about and didn’t. There was no way he could cover it up now, so he just bowed his head and whispered “no.”

 

Louis felt his heart shatter into a million pieces for the thousandth time since this whole situation started. “It’s okay baby, I can explain it to you. Please don’t be embarrassed,” Louis said sadly as he pulls the omega to his chest again and begins rubbing his hands comfortingly up and down his back until he feels the tension there release.

 

“Aftercare is what omegas need after they go through a heat. Most alphas naturally know how to care for an omega both during and after; you have never had a fit alpha so I’m not really surprised that you don’t know,” Louis sighs.

 

“But I’ve not had a heat since our break, and not with any of you anyway, so why…” Zayn started saying, obviously very confused if his scrunched eyebrows and questioning eyes were anything to go by.

 

“No you haven’t,” Louis said gently “But that doesn’t mean that you didn’t still need aftercare. When an omega is in heat, they are open and vulnerable, not able to protect themselves. You know that.”

 

Zayn lowers his eyes to his lap and nods his head slowly. Louis gently brings his fingers up under the omega’s chin and tilts his head up until he is forced to make eye contact with the alpha. “It is nothing to be ashamed of. It is how your body is designed, nothing more nothing less. Okay?” Louis waits until Zayn gives a slight nod of his head before he continues.

 

“You are so open and vulnerable during heats, not just physically, but emotionally as well. During, an alpha should make sure that all of your needs are taken care of, sexually of course, so that you are never left wanting, but also physically. During an alpha, _a fit alpha_ would make sure that you stay hydrated and fed so that you didn’t become too weak. They would also make sure that your body didn’t sustain any lasting injuries. They would also make sure to take care of your psychological health as well. They would talk to you, encourage you, and make sure that you knew that you were safe and loved. All of that is basic care that you should receive during your heats. It is very important, without it an omega can and will suffer physically and emotionally. You know this first hand.”

 

Zayn nodded his head sadly.

 

“As important as all of that is, it pales in comparison to the need for aftercare. Aftercare, is simply the care that is needed after a heat, just like the name implies. No matter how well an alpha takes care of an omega while in heat, they will always need care after as well. An omegas body will be tired, sore, dehydrated and malnourished. It is the alphas job to get the omega back to proper health. The alpha will wash the omega, bring food and water, they will comfort until the omega is back to their original health again.”

 

“But I’m better, and it was never your job anyway,” Zayn said.

 

“Z, you went so long without this care, you truly do still need it. After the trauma that you went through, you need it probably more than any other omega alive. And it is our job. You are our best mate, we love you, and we wouldn’t trust anyone else to take care of you properly anyway.”

 

“In a way, during your heat, your body is betraying you. I know that you didn’t want any of what happened to you, but you were powerless to stop it, your body even craved it. Add that on top of your parents, the people who are supposed to love and take care of you unconditionally, betraying you and using your body for their own gain…” Louis couldn’t continue anymore, his blood was boiling in his veins just thinking about what the Malik’s did to their son.

 

“I get it, I get it, yeah?” Zayn said quickly, moving closer to the alpha again and even going so far as to carefully moving to his lap and curling up there. Zayn didn’t like it when Louis got upset, it scared him a little. “You don’t have to explain anymore. I actually really like that you boys have been taking care of me, yeah. It makes me feel good. I know that I have been difficult for a long time, but you boys really do make me feel safe, even if I don’t act like you do sometimes. I know that you lot would never hurt me, my body just reacts sometimes. I’m not really scared of you. Scared of some situations maybe, but I know that none of you would hurt me. I know, it is just sometimes I forget. I’m trying to get better. I really am.”

 

“Sweetie,” Louis cooed, wrapping his arms around the omega in his lap. “I know you are trying and you are doing so well. We would never hurt you; we only want you to get better. We don’t want to rush you; you need to go at your own pace. We are so happy with the progress that you have made. I mean, look at you, you just crawled into my lap all by yourself and this morning you couldn’t even look at me!”

 

Zayn stiffened slightly, “Do you want me to move? I didn’t really ask before…”

 

“No, most definitely not,” Louis stated as he squeezed his arms tighter around Zayn’s middle and buried his nose in the omega’s hair, breathing in deeply. “You are perfect just where you are. You are the strongest person that I know, after everything that you have been put through… you are just so strong.”

 

“What about alphas? Do they need aftercare?” Zayn asked after a little while of silence. Louis knew that Zayn was referring to Liam. “I mean, a rut has to be hard on your body just like a heat is on mine.”

 

“It is,” Louis agreed “but an alpha’s body is made so that they don’t need care after a rut. By nature we are stronger and have more stamina than omegas. Liam won’t need anything that he can’t get himself when he comes back.”

 

“When will he be back do you think?”

 

“His rut will probably be over late tonight, and my guess is that he will just stay at the hotel for the night and come back tomorrow morning.”

 

Zayn fingered the neckline of Louis’ t-shirt when he said, “Would he be offended if I took care of him a bit? Made him breakfast and such?”

 

Louis laughed. “No, I think that he would eat that up! But you know you don’t have to right?”

 

“I just want to apologize to him. I need to make up for what I did,” Zayn said with a frown.

 

“Baby, I don’t know what happened to cause you to do what you did, but that boy loves you and he will tell you tomorrow, just like I am telling you know that he does not blame you one bit. There was no lasting harm.”

 

Zayn didn’t say anything back to that, only curled up smaller in Louis’ lap.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Harry and Niall came back to the house just before dinner time. They had a good day together. Harry was very proud; he had managed to get Niall to not only buy a new outfit but also to wear it out of the shop. Niall was currently sporting a flowy light colored printed button down shirt (with the first few buttons undone, showing off his impressive chest hair), tight black skinny jeans, and purple heeled boots. The pants were similar to what Niall had been wearing recently, but the shirt and boots… they were more Harry’s cup of tea.

 

The pair had met some fans out today and all of them complemented Niall on his new attire and he seemed pretty pleased. All in all Harry thinks that his ultimate goal of getting Niall to pay more attention to fashion had taken a giant leap forward today.

 

The two barged into the living room laughing together when they both stopped in their tracks having seen Louis and Zayn at the same time. Louis was laying on his back with his head propped up on the arm rest, and Zayn was lying on his side between Louis and the back of the couch. Zayn was half lying on Louis with his head on his chest and his arm hugging the alpha’s waist. Louis had one hand curled in the omega’s hair and the other resting on his shoulder. Both were sound asleep, the only noise in the room being a contented purr coming from the omega.

 

The two alphas smile at each other before Harry goes into the kitchen to start dinner and Niall goes upstairs to put their new purchases away.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn wakes up first and when he realizes how he is laying with Louis he smiles. He can hear someone in the kitchen who he assumes is Harry and someone coming down the stairs that sounds like Niall. Zayn gently starts poking at Louis’ tummy until he begins to stir. When Louis opens his eyes to look at Zayn, the omega has a shit eating grin plastered on his face. “What?” he asks warily.

 

“I think it is time that the ‘partners in crime’ make a comeback,” Zayn says. There is a twinkle in his eye that has been missing for so long.

 

Louis smile breaks out on his face making him look like actual sunshine. “What do you have in mind?”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Niall goes into the kitchen saying, “Look who finally woke up from their naps.” He was followed by Zayn and Louis.

 

Harry smiles at the three of them. “Good, I’m glad you’re up. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.

 

Niall immediately starts chattering to Harry about what the other boys told him about his new look. The consensus was that it was a good look. Harry was so pleased, listening intently to what Niall was saying that he never saw Zayn getting out a plate and spoon or Louis going over to the flour canister. Niall kept him sufficiently preoccupied that he didn’t notice Zayn heaping giant spoonful’s of flour onto the plate or how the pair were snickering to each other. Harry didn’t even notice that Louis was plugging a small fan into an outlet.

 

“Now see, what did I tell you? The fans like it, the boys like it… maybe we should go out again and get you a few more shirts like that? And you should really have more than just one pair of boots. I really like my gold sparkle ones; we could get you a pair to match! We could be gold boots twinsies!” Harry said excitedly.

 

“Harry!” Zayn called loudly.

 

Harry turned around fast, only getting out half of the ‘what’ that was on the tip of his tongue before Louis was turning the fan on high and Zayn was holding the plate in front of it.

 

In seconds Harry’s face and hair were a mess of white and he was sputtering trying to get the dry substance out of his mouth.

 

The other three burst out laughing as the fan was turned off and the plate was put down. Harry could do nothing but stand there in shock. Finally he turned to Niall and said, “You set me up!”

 

“Niall let out a loud laugh, throwing his head back. “Damn right I did. You know as well as I do that it is better to join them than go against them. They are proper evil when they set their minds to it.”

 

“I will get you all for this.”

 

Zayn and Louis look at each other for a moment before they break out into more giggles and take off running through the house, with Harry hot on their heels. Harry manages to tackle them both on the bed upstairs when they run there for cover and begins tickling them mercilessly until they are all laughing so hard they are crying. Niall follows after them cackling.

 

All in all, it was a good day.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it all works out the way I am planning, the next chapter will have the next big twist in this story, so be sure to hold onto your butts!! I am not entirely happy with this chapter... I kept getting distracted so there will probably be more added in at a later time, but right now I just wanted to get this posted for you. 
> 
> Thank you all for your lovely comments they really do mean the world to me even if I don't respond to them! The love that I have received for this story is overwhelming to say the least and I appreciate it so much! So thank you, thank you, thank you! You are all the best. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think, and what your theories are for what will happen next! No one has guessed it yet!! 
> 
> Until next time!! Love you all!!


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first twist that you all have been waiting for has arrived... enjoy.
> 
> P.S. Don't kill me!

Zayn woke up suddenly sometime in the middle of the night. He pressed a hand tightly to over his mouth and scrambled out of bed as quickly as he could. He had asked the other boys to each sleep in their own beds while Liam was away, it just didn’t feel right with them sleeping together when he was all on his own at a hotel during his rut. Zayn was thankful for that request now; if he had had to crawl over the other lads in his current state he didn’t think that he would have made it. As it was he barley was able to run to the loo and get the toilet seat up before he was heaving the contents of his stomach into the basin.

 

The commotion woke up the other boys who rushed into the loo to find the omega standing bent over at the waist over the toilet shaking and coughing. Harry got to Zayn just as his knees gave out. Harry was quick enough to catch the omega by his hips and guide him down to his knees in front of the toilet.

 

Zayn’s body continued heaving; spewing spit and stomach contents into the bowl in a steady stream.

 

It hurt. It hurt a lot. Zayn could feel the tears leaking from his eyes and he couldn’t even fathom trying to stop them. Normally when he would get sick, it would be painful but then there would be a sense of relief when the nausea would dissipate. This was different. Zayn felt his stomach clenching over and over, it was like getting punched in the gut. Zayn never even noticed when he started crying between heaves.

 

Harry kneeled behind the small omega as his body trembled and shook over the toilet. Harry felt powerless as Zayn seemed to shrink before his very eyes. He could do nothing but softly run his hands over Zayn’s heaving back and sides, trying his best to comfort but knowing that in this moment it was futile, he omega probably didn’t even notice his presence.

 

Harry couldn’t help but notice that in this position, every knob of Zayn’s spine could be felt under his fingertips. The knowledge only added to his sadness and hopelessness. It seemed like Zayn would never catch a break, now being poorly on top of everything else. Harry used his other hand to wrap around Zayn’s front and settle over his belly button feeling the muscles in his abdomen contract sporadically under his fingers. Harry rubbed there gently in small circles trying to ease the tension there and help the omega relax.

 

Louis went to fetch a flannel from the cupboard and wet it with cool water in the sink before handing it off to Niall. Louis then made his way to the kitchen in search of anything that could help to settle the omega’s tummy.

 

Niall had taken the cool flannel and was using it to wipe gently at Zayn’s face. When the omega was overtaken again by another bout of vomiting, Niall took the cloth and re-wet it in the sink before folding it over and placing it on the back of the omega’s neck. Niall continued to run his fingers soothingly through Zayn’s hair and coo softly at him.

 

Louis came back a few minutes later with ginger soda and oyster crackers. By this time Zayn had been dry heaving, the contents of his stomach already having been emptied. Zayn was making horrible chocked off sobbing noises that pained the alphas to hear. Louis walked up beside Zayn where he was clutching at the porcelain with white knuckles and set down his bounty. Louis leaned in so that he could speak softly in the omega’s ear.

 

“Baby, I need you to calm down a little bit okay? I know it hurts and that you are poorly, but nothing else is coming up, you’re trying to force it and you needn’t. C’mon lets go back to bed and relax a bit, yeah?”

 

Zayn let out a heartbreaking sob and resolutely shook his head and clutched even more tightly to the toilet bowl. “Okay, okay, we will stay in here.” Louis sat down on the floor and spread his legs out in front of himself. “Can you come over here though? I have some things that I think will help. Come sit in my lap okay?”

 

Zayn glanced up at the feathery haired alpha with red rimmed eyes, finally allowing Harry to help maneuver him so that he was sitting curled up in front of Louis, but still within reach of the toilet.

 

“I know that you are not going to want to do this, but I want you to try and drink and eat a little bit,” Louis started. Before he could even get his entire request out though Zayn was shaking his head and fresh tears were working their way down his pale cheeks. “It will help baby. Ginger is good for settling your stomach and the carbonation in the soda will help too. The crackers will help to soak up some of the acidity in your stomach as well. Just a little bit right now okay? Just to see if you can keep it down.”

 

It took a bit more coaxing from all three of the alphas, but they finally got about a cup of ginger soda and a handful of crackers in the omega. Zayn was able to keep it all down and eventually passed from exhaustion curled into Louis chest.

 

Zayn wasn’t feverish, but had worked up a sweat, so the alphas quickly changed his clothes before they moved him back to the bed and tucked him in. They decided to take shifts for the rest of the night, one of them staying up and watching the omega in case he got ill again.

 

It was a good thing that the alphas were taking shifts. Zayn was up three more times before sunrise being violently ill.

 

It was a long night.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The fifth time that Zayn wakes he is relieved that his stomach has stopped rolling with nausea. He turns his head and is met with Niall’s sleepy gaze. Niall looks worried when he sees Zayn is awake but it quickly clears when Zayn smiles shyly at him.

 

“I’m sorry,” Zayn mumbles quietly, not wanting to wake Louis and Harry who were both resting again in their beds.

 

“Don’t apologize sweetie. How are you feeling?” Niall asks.

 

“Better I think, a little hungry,” Zayn replies honestly.

 

Niall nods, “You know, me too.”

 

“Ni, you are always hungry,” Zayn says with a cheeky smile.

 

“Hush you. Let’s go downstairs and get a bite to eat okay?” The two boys quietly leave the room and head down to the kitchen.

 

“I think I just want some buttered toast, is that okay?”

 

Niall nods, “Yeah, that would probably be for the best. We don’t want to upset your stomach again. How about some peppermint tea as well? That would be good for your stomach just in case.”

 

“Yeah, good idea. I’ll put the water on.”

 

The two shuffle around the kitchen getting their breakfast ready. When they just finish they hear the front door open. A minute later Liam comes walking into the room. Liam was freshly showered with his damp hair softly brushed back off his forehead and drying in light waves. He was wearing jeans and a light grey form hugging t-shirt. There were slight bags under his eyes but he looked pretty good for just having finished a rut.

“Liam!”

 

Liam smiles brightly, his eyes squinting almost all the way closed as Zayn runs to him and throws his arms around his waist, clutching him tightly. Liam is a little taken aback by the gesture but recovers in record time and hugs Zayn back. “Hi darling,” he chuckles. “I missed you too!” Liam looks at Niall then and notices the dark circles decorating the delicate skin under his eyes and frowns. “Ni, you look like shit.”

 

“Yeah, we didn’t get much sleep last night. Zayn spent most of it poorly.”

 

“Poorly?” Liam said, immediately going into Daddy Direction mode. “Is he okay?” Liam asked Niall, then it seemed to dawn on him that it was stupid to be asking anyone else when he could easily ask the omega himself, Liam turned his head to face Zayn and asked, “Are you okay?”

 

Liam could hear Zayn mumbling but couldn’t make out what exactly he was saying. “What did you say darling?” Liam tried to pry Zayn away from him just a little bit so that he could try to understand what the omega was saying, but Zayn shook his head and held on tighter. Luckily Zayn took a moment to speak up slightly, not wanting Liam to dislodge him from around his middle, and Liam was able to hear that Zayn was apologizing over and over again.

 

“No Zayn, don’t apologize, please,” Liam said in a slightly hysterical tone.

 

Hearing their exchange Niall decided to make himself scarce. “Well I think that I am just going to go back to bed for a bit. Let you two have some alone time to chat.” Neither Zayn nor Liam made any indication that they heard the Irishman and paid him no mind as he left the room to head back to his bed.

 

Liam carefully moved Zayn over to the breakfast nook and sat him down on the bench before sitting down on his knees before him. “Zayn, why are you apologizing?”

 

“I raped you! I don’t know what happened I swear! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to! I’ll never do it again, I promise. Please, please forgive me!” The more Zayn spoke the higher pitched and more frantic his voice became.

 

Liam’s heart sank hearing the omega’s words. “Oh baby, no! No, no, no, no, no. Listen to me okay?” Liam said interrupting the rant that Zayn was currently working himself into. “I know you didn’t mean to. Okay? I know. There is nothing to forgive. You didn’t rape me baby. You could never.”

 

“But you said no! And I didn’t listen! That’s rape! That is what happened to me and that is rape!”

 

Liam bracketed the omega’s face with his hands, his thumbs gently rubbing under his eyes in a hopefully soothing manner. “Okay, you’re right. Technically. But baby, I didn’t say no because I didn’t want it. I did want it. I still want it. The only reason that I said no was because I knew that it wasn’t really you. I was saying no for you, not for me. I knew that you were not ready for anything sexual like that, and I understand that. That is okay. You scared me when you did it because I was worried about you. I didn’t know what was happening and why you were doing what you were doing. I know that it wasn’t really you.” Liam didn’t think that how he was explaining this was adequate at all. He was good at writing lyrics but trying to explain to the distraught omega that his previous actions were not being considered rape by him (even though technically it was) was escaping him.

 

Liam knew that the actions could be considered rape by law, or at the very least sexual assault. But he also knew that he would never press charges against the omega. Zayn had been through so much, and he was so clearly not in his right mind when he did it. Liam just wanted he and Zayn to get past this whole ordeal and move on. In Liam’s mind it was already water under the bridge and he wanted Zayn to understand that too. Maybe it was wrong, but Liam didn’t care.

 

“Baby, have you spent the whole time that I was gone worrying about me?”

 

Zayn nodded his head while biting his lip and looking at Liam with red, watery eyes.

 

“Oh you silly boy,” Liam smiled. “I spent the whole time worrying about you!”

 

Zayn just looked at Liam in wonderment.

 

“Zayn. There was no damage done. I was not hurt, physically or otherwise. Everything is fine. Are you alright?”

 

“Yes. Yes, I’m fine.”

 

“Good,” Liam stated matter-of-factly. “Now can we just put this whole situation behind us? I don’t want to dwell on something that for me was just a blip.”

 

Zayn thought a moment before nodding his head and fell forward wrapping his arms around the alpha’s neck and hugging him tightly. “I’m glad we are okay Li.”

 

“Me too, Z. Me too.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn had wanted to take care of Liam a bit. He had just been through a rut all by himself, the least that Zayn could do was make him breakfast. Liam on the other hand wanted no part of the omega taking care of him. Liam saw the action for what it was; Zayn trying to make up for his previous actions and maybe even for not servicing the alpha while he was in rut. After some quiet arguing back and forth and pouting on Zayn’s part, the two compromised by deciding to make breakfast together for themselves and the other boys.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It was late afternoon by the time that Dr. Gray arrived for Zayn’s checkup. Before going to the spare room where Zayn was waiting for her, Dr. Gray spoke with the alphas regarding the omega’s progress over the week. The alphas each described how their day with the omega went and Dr. Gray was very impressed with how well Zayn handled it from the alphas point of view.

 

Dr. Gray furrowed her brow when Liam told her about Zayn going down on him and about how the next morning the other alphas could smell that his rut was coming. She tutted sympathetically when Louis told how he had to bite Zayn to get him under control. Despite his best efforts and the conversation afterwards that he had with Zayn, Louis still could not hold back a sniffle as he reiterated the tale to the doctor. Louis only felt marginally better when Dr. Gray informed him that she thought that he had done the right thing.

 

Eventually the boys got to the events of the previous night. Zayn hadn’t been ill again since early morning but they were still concerned. It couldn’t have been food poisoning as the other boys had eaten the same things that the omega had and none of them had felt poorly. Dr. Gray’s face darkened considerably after hearing that the omega had been ill for most of the night.

 

Dr. Gray then went to examine Zayn then. She found his ribs to be healed well enough to not need to be wrapped any more for which Zayn was relieved. It was such a pain to have to have his ribs wrapped every morning after he bathed. The doctor checked on both bites to Zayn’s neck. The bite from Louis was now only a light pink mark that would soon fade completely into Zayn’s tan skin and would soon be undetectable, a sign of a properly cared for bite. The one from the alpha twin was still an ugly red-ish purple but the wound had closed completely. For as bad of a bite as it had been without any aftercare, it was healing exceptionally well. There were still a few fading bruises scattered around Zayn’s body but they would probably be completely healed by his next checkup.

 

Dr. Gray asked Zayn question after question to gauge his mental and psychological health and was very, very happy with Zayn’s progress, both physically and mentally.

 

The doctor did not know what had caused Zayn’s behavior or what had made him ill. She had a thought, but desperately hoped that she was not right. The boy had been through so much already and she hoped that there was another explanation than the one that she immediately thought of. Dr. Gray took several blood and urine samples from the omega to do some tests back at her lab. She explained to Zayn and the alphas that she would do the tests and some research and would contact them as soon as she could definitively say what, if anything was wrong with the omega. She assured them not to worry and that she was sure that everything was fine and that it wasn’t a big deal.

 

As she was getting in her vehicle to drive back to the city after saying goodbye, Dr. Gray desperately hoped that she had not lied to the boys. She hoped that she was wrong.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

The five boys spent the rest of the day relaxing together. They were all happy to have Liam back at the house and that Zayn was feeling better. They didn’t do a whole lot of anything though, definitely nothing productive as they were all very tired.

 

Ruts take a lot out of alphas. Liam’s whole body was sore and achy. It was nothing that it couldn’t handle, he had of course been through them before by himself, but it was uncomfortable. Liam did his best to downplay his discomfort for the omega’s sake. Zayn had seemed so concerned earlier and the alpha did not want him to start worrying again.

 

Harry, Louis, and Niall were all suffering from stress and lack of sleep themselves. Watching the poor omega be poorly and in such obvious distress had really upset the three of them. They were just so glad that it seemed to be over.

 

Zayn’s abdomen muscles had really gotten a work out the night before from being ill and it hurt him to stretch or move around on his own. It hadn’t been that bad when he first got up in the morning but had gradually increased throughout the day. He knew that this was normal, and he would just have to wait it out, the same with his throat which was scratchy from the stomach acid.

 

Zayn still hadn’t told anyone yet but he was still hearing the voices. The omega was scared that they would think that he was crazy so he refused to tell Dr. Gray or the other boys. Zayn had been getting better at ignoring the voices though. When he was distracted during his individual days with the boys, he had hardly noticed the voices that kept up a constant rant inside his mind. They were still there of course, but if the omega could focus on something else then he was able to tune them out. The stress with worrying about Liam had also helped him to ignore the silent comments.

 

After watching a couple of movies the boys decided to call it an early night. They didn’t really have any plans for the next day, but they were all tired. It didn’t take much to decide that all of them would be sleeping in the omega’s bed. They all figured that they were in need of a good night of cuddling. Zayn settled in the middle of the bed after changing onto loose shorts and a tank top. Niall and Louis were on either side of him, with Harry and Liam on the outsides of the bed. In no time at all they were all curled around each other and sleeping peacefully.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Unfortunately the night did not stay peaceful.

 

Zayn was awoken a few hours later by an earsplitting crack of thunder. His first thought was that it sounded like it was raining buckets outside, rain lashing against the windows, the second was that his stomach was rolling and clenching unpleasantly with nausea. Unlike the previous night, Zayn found himself trapped on the bed between four alphas. Zayn began panicking as he felt the bile rising in his throat and began thrashing about trying to push the alphas away enough to be able to escape the bed.  

 

“Ugh… Zayn? Was’a matter?” Louis mumbled almost incoherently. Another flash of lightning lit up the room and Louis saw the omega clutching a hand to his mouth tightly, his eyes wide and panicked. “Oh shit! C’mon! Haz! Get up, get up, get up!” Louis shoved at Harry until he was shoved out of the bed harshly onto the floor waking up with a shout. Paying no mind to the alpha who he had unceremoniously shoved onto the floor, Louis grabbed Zayn by the arm and hauled him out of the bed and rushed him into the loo.

 

Niall and Liam were woken up by the commotion and confusedly made their way behind the pair, finally understanding what was going on when they saw Zayn bent over the toilet. Harry followed a moment later rubbing his bruised bum and grumbling under his breath.

 

Wordlessly the alphas dispersed to gather the needed items to care for the poorly omega. They worked seamlessly together, knowing what was needed and not having to discuss who would do what. In no time at all there were oyster crackers along with ginger soda and peppermint tea on a tray from the kitchen and cool towels to wipe at the omega’s clammy skin. Louis was still by Zayn’s side rubbing soft circles between his shoulder blades.

 

The boys were distressed but not surprised to find that Zayn was crying and gasping for breath as his body continued to convulse.   The omega’s face was bright red and shiny with tears.

 

“Zayn, baby, you need to relax okay? Calm down. Everything is going to be okay,” Louis whispered quietly in his ear attempting to sooth him.

 

“Hurts,” Zayn whimpered, his voice cracking painfully.

 

“I know baby, I know. You’re fighting it. You need to relax and not fight it. Just let it happen. It is uncomfortable, I know, but it won’t hurt so much, okay? Just relax,” Louis coaxed while gently rubbing his palm over the omega’s tummy.

 

When finally, Zayn began dry heaving, his stomach empty again, Liam sat on the floor and pulled the omega into his lap. Zayn was very clearly exhausted and at the end of his physical limits. Liam cuddled him to his chest and ran his fingers through his damp sweaty hair in an attempt to calm the still crying and gasping omega. After a few minutes of soothing touches from all of the alphas, Zayn’s breathing began to regulate.

 

Harry cautiously grabbed Zayn by his chin and lifted it up so that he could see the omega’s face more clearly. Zayn’s eyes were horribly bloodshot and swollen as well as still leaking tears. His face was blotchy and puffy; warm to the touch. “Are you feeling a little better, Z?” Harry asked.

 

Zayn shook his head and mumbled, “Head hurts.”

 

“Okay baby,” Harry said. “Just gonna clean up your face a bit and give you some medicine. Want you to try and eat and drink a bit, then we will go back to bed so you can rest.”

 

“No,” Zayn cried sadly shaking his head back and forth. It was the same as the night before. Zayn was scared of being ill again and didn’t want to have anything in his stomach again. His head was pounding terribly; he just wanted to lay down and go to sleep.

 

“Babe, you need to stay hydrated, come on,” Louis said sternly enough for the omega to know that the decision was made and there was no point in arguing.

 

Niall had the job of hand feeding the tiny omega. After Zayn had eaten and drank enough to satisfy the alphas they got him into bed to rest. Harry got a cool cloth and placed it on the omega’s forehead and over his swollen eyes. It felt so good that Zayn would have begun purring if he hadn’t been so tired. It still hurt like hell but the cold was helping ease the pain a bit.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn was up another three times that night. It wasn’t until about 5:00 AM that Zayn’s stomach finally settled and he was able to fall into a deep sleep.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It was mid-morning when Liam’s phone began ringing. He was in the kitchen with Harry making lunch. Liam took a moment to be grateful that he was downstairs and not in the bedroom where Zayn was still sleeping. He didn’t want to wake up the omega unnecessarily. When he answered the phone he was greeted by the voice of Dr. Gray.

 

“Hello Liam, this is Dr. Gray. How are you this morning?”

 

“We are all pretty tired to be honest. Zayn was up sick for most of the night again.”

 

Dr. Gray sighed on the other end of the line. “I think that I know why. I have the results in from the samples that I took yesterday. I was wondering if I could come by to discuss the results with you all?”

 

“Is everything okay? What did the results say?”

 

“Everything is fine from what I can tell so far, but I would really rather discuss it with you all in person, and preferably with you alphas first before Zayn. Is it alright if I stop by?”

 

Liam was beginning to get nervous, but said anyway, “Yeah. Of course.”

 

“Okay Liam. I am leaving my office now; I should be there in about an hour.” With that the doctor hung up.

 

Liam just looked at his phone, then at Harry, before getting up to gather Louis and Niall and let them know that the doctor was on her way.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The wait was agonizing for the alphas. You would think that with their life, they would be use to stressful situations, and they were, but when it came to their omega, it just seemed like everything was amplified. Luckily, Zayn was still sleeping when Dr. Gray pulled into the drive. Harry was waiting by the door to let her in and escort her to the kitchen where tea was ready. Once everyone was seated Dr. Gray began.

 

“As you know, I took some blood and urine samples from Zayn to do some testing. I got the results back this morning.”

 

Ever impatient, Louis said, “And?”

 

“It appears as if Zayn is pregnant.” Dr. Gray said carefully.

 

Her statement was met by stunned silence, all four alphas staring at her in various stages of disbelief.

 

“What?” Niall finally choked out.

 

“The tests showed that his pregnancy hormone level was high, indicating that he was about four months along in a pregnancy,” Dr. Gray stated.

 

“But how can that be? When we found him a month ago, he was skin and bones, he had put on weight, but still he would be showing and his stomach is still flat as a board,” Louis stated logically.

 

“I had to do some research, because I thought the same thing. There has been evidence that an omega’s body can, under the right circumstances, delay a pregnancy after they have been impregnated. The zygote, which is what is formed by the joining of an egg and sperm cell, does not immediately attach itself to the wall of the omega’s uterus.”

 

“What kind of circumstances?” Harry asked.

 

“The cases that I found were when the omega’s body was under extreme stress. The zygote would not attach itself properly and begin forming into a fetus until the omega’s body was capable of carrying it. In this case, Zayn’s body was being abused to the point where it was not capable of sustaining a pregnancy, so his body essentially paused the pregnancy until he was safe. My guess is that he got pregnant during your break, but that the zygote didn’t attach until he went back to London for rehearsals with you boys,” the doctor explained.

 

All of the boys looked confused by this. “Why do you think that?” Liam asked.

 

“That would put the developmental stage of his pregnancy at just about four weeks. He only just started to get ill. Morning sickness begins between four and six weeks into a pregnancy.”

 

“What about the drugs? He was on suppressants during that week… not to mention the drugs that his father gave him during the break and all the trauma that he went through at the hands of the twins… what did that do to the fetus?” Louis asked.

 

“That is a very good question; one I am afraid that I do not have the answer too. All I can tell you is my theory. The combination of drugs that Zayn was subjected to should have been lethal to a fetus at any stage of development. The fact that the pregnancy has reached this far… is a medical miracle. That being said, it is my professional opinion that Zayn’s body will not be capable of caring the fetus to full term. It is very likely that his body will reject the fetus and he will miscarry. If by some chance that does not happen and he does carry and deliver the child, there is no telling how the child would develop.”

 

“What do you mean?” Niall asked, horror written all over his face at what the doctor was saying.

 

“I mean that the child would almost certainly have birth defects, both physical and developmental. Again, that is even if the fetus survives long enough to be born.”

 

The alphas sat in stunned silence for a long time, each thinking over what the doctor had just told them. They couldn’t believe that this was happening. Hadn’t Zayn already been through enough? Why was this happening to him? An unwanted pregnancy on top of everything else? This wasn’t fair! Add on to that, the pregnancy would lead to even more heartache down the line. Either Zayn would miscarry or his child would be born with horrible defects.

 

It was Niall who broke the silence. “How are we going to tell Zayn?”

 

The alphas could do nothing but look at each other. This would devastate the omega all over again. He was just starting to come around; there was no telling what this would do to his progress.

 

All of a sudden the silence was broken by shattering glass. Before anyone could move they heard feet pounding on the floor and the back door being thrown open letting in the sounds of heavy rainfall and thunder that was still going on outside. The house alarm began wailing.

 

The boys ran to the back door and saw Zayn, running as fast as he could out into the storm.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun!!!
> 
> So... this is the next big twist... What do you think?
> 
> I thought of this twist quite a while before babygate happened so if this is too much for some of you because of that I apologize. Also... fair warning: this fic will NOT be a kid fic. I won't say anything else on that matter, but I wanted to put it out there in case it is triggering to anyone. Just a reminder that this story will have a happy ending... eventually. 
> 
> The next scene is the one that I originally started this fic to write. I never thought when I started that I wouldn't get to it until about 90,000 words in... crazy how that happens. But that being said... I am really excited for the next chapter. Hopefully it won't take me very long to update!! It will mostly depend on my work schedule. 
> 
> Leave comments!! I am anxiously awaiting what you have to say!!


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow... this took longer to update than I would have thought. This chapter has been in my mind for well over a year. This is the chapter that I pictured when I started this fic... it was the inspiration. The details leading up to this chapter have changed over time, but this chapter in itself is essentially the same. I think that I have had it in my head for so long that I was intimidated by it and didn't want to ruin it by actually making it real. I pictured it being longer than what it is... so sorry that it is so short...

Zayn woke up in bed by himself. He immediately noticed that it was odd; since he had been in the hospital the boys had not left him alone. There was always at least one of them with him at all times. So waking up in bed without any of them in the room was odd. Zayn decided that he would get up and go find the alphas. The omega shivered as his bare feet hit the floor. He was only wearing a pair of boxers and a loose sleeveless shirt, and it as chilly in the house; he could see the rain still falling heavily outside, but Zayn figured that he would curl up in one of the big blankets downstairs. The omega hoped that Harry would make breakfast; he wasn’t sure what time it was, but chocolate chip pancakes sounded delicious. He had thrown up everything that he had eaten the previous day and right now he was feeling some hunger pains.

 

Zayn padded out into the hallway and paused at the edge of the stairs. The alphas didn’t like him going downstairs by himself. They always worried that he would stumble and fall. Which before would be a legitimate worry, but Zayn had been doing better as of late and figures that he can make it down just fine all by himself, but he will still keep his hand on the railing and go slow, just because he knows that it is what the alphas would want.

 

Zayn got to the bottom of the stairs and heard someone talking in the kitchen. It was a female voice. That was odd. It took Zayn a few moments to identify the voice as Dr. Gray. The omega knew that he shouldn’t eavesdrop on her conversation with the alphas; after all, he was just an omega and if they wanted him as part of the conversation then they would have woken him up. But, curiosity got the better of him because Dr. Gray had just been there the day before. Zayn figured that just listening to a little of the conversation wouldn’t hurt anything.

 

_“… begin forming into a fetus until the omega’s body was capable of carrying it. In this case, Zayn’s body was being abused to the point where it was not capable of sustaining a pregnancy, so his body essentially paused the pregnancy until he was safe. My guess is that he got pregnant during your break, but that the zygote didn’t attach until he went back to London for rehearsals with you boys,”_ Zayn heard the doctor explain.

 

What? Pregnant? What was she talking about? Zayn wasn’t pregnant. He would know. He knew that he would know.

 

**Would you really, filthy little slut? Would you really know? A good omega would know but you are not a good omega. You are a bad omega. Worthless. The doctor says that you have been pregnant for months now and you didn’t even have a clue. So stupid.**

Zayn looked down at his belly; it was still slightly concave. If he was pregnant he would be showing; it wouldn’t take much for him to show.

 

**Didn’t you hear what the doctor said you stupid omega? The pregnancy was paused. She is right. You have been puking your fucking guts out for two nights. Think about it stupid bitch!**

No! Zayn thought to himself. No this can’t be happening! Zayn clutched at his stomach instinctively.

 

**Oh but it is!**

 

Zayn’s thoughts were drowned out by the hysterical laughter of the voice inside his head. The omega was vaguely aware of the alphas and the doctor still talking in the kitchen but he couldn’t concentrate on what they were saying. In a vain attempt to shut up the voice inside his head, Zayn grabbed a large glass vase on the hallway table and threw it into the wall making it shatter into hundreds of pieces. The loud crash cleared his mind for a moment, and then he was off like a shot, running for the back door. He had to get away.

 

Zayn yanked the back door open and was immediately assaulted by wind, rain, and the shriek of the security system going off. The omega doesn’t let that stop him though and he takes off across the yard. He only makes it about twenty feet from the door though before his nose is assaulted by the scent of alpha. He could not decipher where the smell is coming from though, the wind is carrying it in circles around him. Zayn spins around trying to look for the alpha that must be near if he is able to smell him in all this rain.

 

Zayn hears shouting coming from his left; one glance and he can see two large figures quickly approaching him. Zayn spins on his heel and runs in the opposite direction as fast as he can; all thoughts of pregnancy successfully pushed to the back of his mind in favor of the more imminent need to escape the scent of alpha.

 

**That’s right, run you little bitch! The alpha is coming to get you!**

**You know that running is only going to make him even more angry.**

**Maybe this time the alpha will get it right and fuck you until you die.**

Zayn momentarily wished that he could outrun the voices in his head as well.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Harry, Liam, Louis and Niall run out of the house after the omega only to see his retreating form being quickly followed by Dale, one of their security personnel. Liam hears Dale yelling into his radio something about an intruder on the grounds. Without stopping to explain Liam runs at breakneck speed towards Dale, yelling at him to stop.

 

Louis paused and turned to Dr. Gray who had followed them outside. “You stay here. We don’t want to lose track of you in the woods. We need to know where you are incase Zayn needs medical attention when we find him.”

 

“Okay, good luck.”

 

Dale turns and faces Liam, “Get back inside! There is an intruder on the grounds!”

 

“No Dale! That’s Zayn! No time to explain, you’re scaring him! We will get him and bring him back!” Liam yelled.

 

Dale stops running and stares as the four alpha band members blow by him into the woods.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Liam could smell the alpha security details as soon as he stepped foot outside of the house and knew what had happened. Zayn had heard what Dr. Gray had told them, how much the omega heard, Liam didn’t know, but enough to get him to panic and run out of the house. As soon as he got out of the house, Zayn would have smelled the alphas, who were not using scent neutralizers like he and the boys were. This was the first time since Paul was in the house and the second time since the hospital that Zayn has smelled an alpha. Liam knew that the smell would send the omega into a further panic. Zayn had started running because he found out he was pregnant but now he was running for his life, fearing that the alphas that he smelled were trying to get him to hurt him.

 

The other boys had come to the same conclusion that Liam had. Zayn had reached the woods and disappeared into it. When the boys got to the edge of the woods, Niall spoke. “How are we going to catch him?”

 

Omegas are smaller in stature and lighter than alphas as an evolutionary precaution. Their smaller size made them easier to overpower by the generally larger and more muscular alphas. To make up for this, omegas were gifted with speed and endurance so that they could outrun any dangers alphas that they may encounter. Now Zayn was running from them.

 

“He is running blind, we have to find a way to corner him somewhere or else hope that he gets weak and has to slow down,” Louis said. “If he keeps this pace we will never catch him.”

 

“The only way that we can corner him is if we herd him somewhere that is strategically beneficial to us,” Harry said. “We don’t know this area either; I have hardly spent any time before this at this house. Besides we can’t get close enough to him right now to be able to herd him. He is too far ahead. We have to hope that his endurance waivers.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn had to slow down when he entered the woods, there was too much underbrush and the ground was muddy, his bare feet sinking into the soft ground and sticking; every time he lifted a foot it released with a sickening ‘pop’. Zayn tripped over a root that was sticking out of the ground and fell hard on his hands and knees, scraping them up and blood began to ooze out of the wounds.

 

**You are so stupid. You cannot even run away properly. You weigh less than the alpha if you ran lighter you wouldn’t be sinking in. You are so fucking clumsy.**

 

Zayn couldn’t smell the alpha anymore; the trees blocked the wind so the scent wasn’t swirling around him anymore. With the smell gone Zayn was able to make himself focus through the panic and adrenalin that was still coursing through his body. He might not be able to smell the alpha but he knew that he was being followed; an alpha looking for an omega would not give up so quickly. Zayn kept going.

 

**You are leaving a trail. He is going to find you. He is going to catch you. He is going to fuck you. He is going to beat you to within an inch of your life, if you are lucky. And you deserve it.**

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“We are gaining on him,” Louis said. “His scent is getting stronger.”

 

Where the underbrush and mud was slowing Zayn down, the more muscular alphas were able to plow right through. The branches were doing some damage to the omega, they could tell. The tracks that Zayn was leaving in his wake were messy and had traces of blood.

 

“Lads, what are we going to do when we find him?” Niall asked.

 

None of the others had to ask the blonde alpha to elaborate. They all knew that Zayn was in a downward spiral right now; that is the only reason that he would have run out of the safety of the house into the middle of a thunderstorm. Truth be told, none of them knew how they were going to get the omega past this newest curveball that fate had thrown him.

 

Harry was the one who answered, “Let’s just get him home safe. We will figure out the rest as we go along.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn knew that the alpha was gaining on him. He was exhausted, pulling his feet out of the mud and getting tangled in the brush was really doing a number on his stamina. He found himself tripping more often and he noticed that his feet were a bloody mess. His adrenaline was keeping the pain away for now, so there was that. Add that to having been up all night ill and he just didn’t know how much farther he could go.

 

As it turned out Zayn didn’t have to make the conscious decision to stop running. The landscape itself made the decision for him.

 

Zayn pushed past a row of closely placed pine trees and found himself at the edge of a steep ravine. The omega’s heart sank, he was trapped.

 

The laughter in his head redoubled making Zayn cringe.

 

**He is going to get you now you little cunt. You might want to start preparing your arsehole now. He is going to catch you and fuck you until you pass out. Then he is going to fuck you some more. That is all you are good for and you know it. You were born to be used. Your little friends are not going to be able to save you this time you pathetic little omega.**

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The boys pushed through a line of pine branches, knowing that they were close to the omega. The scene that met their eyes broke their hearts.

 

Zayn was sitting at the edge of a ravine on his knees facing them. His hands were behind his back and his neck was barred in a position of submission. The alphas could see his chest rising and falling rapidly and his breath was coming out in pants that they could see. Up until that point they hadn’t noticed how cold it was outside; too intent on catching the omega to think about the weather and what he was wearing. He had to have been freezing.

 

The alphas stopped, not wanting to approach Zayn and frighten him into slipping back on the slick ground. The alphas looked to one another, silently conferring with each other to find the best course of action.

 

After sharing a look with each of the other alphas, Niall took a small step forward. “Zayn, sweetie, it’s me, Niall.” When Zayn made no movements to even show that he had heard him, Niall tried again. “Zayn. It is just us. Me, Lou, Li, and Haz. You smelled Dale. He was the alpha that you were running from. He is back at the house. We are the only ones out here. We won’t hurt you. Can you look at me please?”

 

It took some more coaxing, but finally Zayn peeked up through his long damp eye lashes to look at the alphas in front of him.

 

“Zayn, I know that you are hurting right now. I can’t even imagine what is going on inside your head. Please let us take care of you. Come back to the house with us, we will get you dry and warm and then we will figure out what to do. Can you do that for us? For me?”

 

Zayn was at the end his rope, he had no other choice. They did appear to be by themselves. They said that the alpha that he smelled was Dale. He knew Dale. Dale had never hurt him before, and he trusted his band mates. Zayn’s whole world felt like it was collapsing around him, he needed something to anchor himself too. Maybe the boys could be that something.

 

Slowly Zayn nodded his head. The alphas let out a collective breath, so relieved that Niall had gotten through to him.

 

“That’s good sweetie, so good,” Niall smiled at the omega. “Let’s get you out of the weather okay?”

 

Zayn nodded again and went to stand up on his feet again. Maybe if the weather had been nicer it wouldn’t have happened. All the rain had softened up the soil a considerable amount. Maybe if the alphas would have been a little bit faster in reaching the omega, the rain wouldn’t have had so much time to soak into the ground. There were so many maybe’s that could have possibly changed what happened next. Maybe and what if really don’t matter. What happened, happened, there is no way to change the past.

 

When Zayn pushed himself back up onto his feet, the pressure of his bodyweight shifted just enough and the ground gave way. Zayn didn’t have time to react; one second the ground was solid beneath him, the next it was not and he felt himself falling. The last thing that he saw was the shocked faces of the alphas as he plunged down the ravine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the fic has been outlined... and some parts have already been written. I make no promises of when I will update again... work has been kicking my ass. But from my point of view the end is in sight... I love this story and will be sad to see it end... but I have many more ideas for future fics that I am excited to write. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed. Leave me a comment to let me know what you think! Thank you all for reading! All the love!


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The drama of the last couple of days... OMG. I am just glad that Liam is okay. I love Home, and the Perfect video is... perfect. That is the most real thing that has ever been given to the fans by One Direction that was sanctioned by 1DHQ. It was beautiful. I loved it. And Zayn's newest selfie... I died. 
> 
> Anyway... enjoy!!

Niall didn’t even have time to think; his body just reacted of its own accord. One second he was watching in horror as the ground beneath the omega gave way; the next second he was sliding on his belly over the edge as he grasped at Zayn’s fingertips, the combined weight of the omega and his own upper body pulling him down. A half a second later, Niall felt a heavy weight fall his lower body and Louis flung himself on the blonde alpha, wrapping his arms around Niall’s waist and squeezing him with all his might. Harry and Liam were on their bellies on either side of Niall using their longer arms to grab Zayn’s wrists before the rain damp fingers could slip from Niall’s clutches.

 

With Harry and Liam’s secure grip on his arms, Zayn was able to re-secure his grip on Niall’s hands and holds on for dear life. The three alphas who have ahold of Zayn can feel his heart beating frantically through his skin. The omega hadn’t made a sound, but his eyes are wide open in fear and his skin has gone a deathly pale. The angle and the fact that the ground is still crumbling and sliding away underneath them prevents them from being able to pull Zayn to safety. Louis, being the only one of them who is still on solid ground begins yanking Niall backwards with all his strength until Harry and Liam are able to grip Zayn under his arms and pull him back on solid ground. The five of them end up in a dog pile in the mud, with Niall in the middle clutching Zayn to his chest crying.

 

The four alphas stay like that for a few moments, just trying to calm their breathing. Their omega was safe, they had saved him. Zayn was safe and in their arms.

 

Zayn did not speak. He couldn’t. His senses were completely overtaken with the maniacal laughter in his mind. The laughter was only interrupted by a harsh voice.

 

**They should have let you fall. They should have let you die. You are worthless, you don’t deserve them. They would be better off without you. You are used; you will never be good enough for them. You should have jumped. You are a whore, a slut, a waste of space.**

Zayn isn’t aware of the silent tears that are running down his face, but it only takes a few moments for the alphas surrounding him to take notice. They also take in the frigid clammy feel of his skin that is trembling under their firm touches and the new scrapes and bruises that litter his body once again.

 

Zayn is only vaguely aware of voices around him and of his body being lifted into a strong set of arms. He doesn’t even think as his arms latch around the neck of the alpha that is holding him. The omega can’t even bring himself to attempt to identify the bandmate that is holding him tight to his chest. Zayn can do nothing other than hold on while the voices drown out everything else around him.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Liam carries Zayn bridal style back through the woods towards the house. All of the alphas are in various stages of freaking the fuck out. For one thing, Zayn found out that he was pregnant and not in an ideal way. For another, he was now back to a broken version of himself that they promised themselves and him that they would never allow again. They had failed. It didn’t matter that the physical damage wasn’t that bad considering how they had found him just a few weeks prior, it was still damage. There were still bruises and scrapes, there were even a couple of blisters on the bottoms of the omega’s feet. Zayn also wasn’t speaking. That alone gave them an idea of where his mental and emotional health lay, and they were not pleased. It took them so long to break into Zayn and get him to open up, now it felt like they were back to ground zero. The omega didn’t seem to really be aware of what was going on around him; he had a far off look in his eyes, like he could see right through the alphas.

 

It was a terrifying sight to behold. One that the alphas wished that they could purge from their minds.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The alphas get Zayn back to the house as quick as they can and are met on the porch by Dr. Gray, Dale and Paul, who had been contacted by Dale the second that the alphas had disappeared into the woods. Paul had broken approximately seven traffic laws in his haste to get to the house.

 

Without a word Liam took Zayn into the warmth of the house wincing slightly when the omega dug his nails into the back of his neck as he smelled the alphas on the porch. Liam sat down with him on the couch and cuddled him on his lap, trying to disentangle gripping fingers from his flesh. Dr. Gray immediately followed after them to check on the wellbeing of the injured omega. Dale and Paul looked as if they were going to follow until Louis let out a quiet snarl and they stopped in their tracks. Louis wasn’t mad at Dale for scaring Zayn more than he already was, he knew that Dale heard the alarm go off and he saw a figure running from the house. He was doing his job at chasing Zayn, but that did not mean that Louis was not frustrated. Louis saw Zayn react again to the alpha scent and simply would not allow that to continue. Louis firmly shut the door on their security and tour manager after he, Harry and Niall entered the house with only a slightly apologetic look to Paul in the process.

 

Dr. Gray quickly assessed Zayn, only slightly impeded by Liam who would not let him go. “Physically he looks okay. None of the wounds look to be serious but he is covered in mud so I can’t be one hundred percent certain. Run him a bath, get him cleaned up and warm, he is freezing, and then I will treat and dress any injuries that he has.”

 

The alphas didn’t need to be told twice; Harry was on his way upstairs to start the bath before the doctor had already finished speaking. Louis though went immediately to the shower and began adjusting the water temperature.

 

“What are you doing Lou?” Harry asked confusedly.

 

“He is covered in mud, we all are. Won’t do any good to clean him up in muddy water will it?”

 

With that both alphas began stripping off their wet and dirty clothing, Niall following suit when he followed Liam and Zayn into the bathroom. For his part, Liam just carried Zayn into the shower and under the warm water without removing any clothing. He could feel how cold the omega’s skin was and how hard he was shivering. Once the other alphas had joined them, Liam set Zayn gently on his feet but didn’t let go until Harry had a good grip on him. Liam began shucking his own clothing while Niall and Louis worked together to rid the omega of his own.

 

With gentle fingers the alphas rubbed the clumps of mud from Zayn’s skin. Niall got some shampoo on his hands and ran it through the omega’s dark hair, scratching lightly at his scalp to sooth him, then rinsing out the bubbles. After cleaning themselves quickly as well, the alphas got Zayn out from under the spray and set down in the warm water of the tub where he curled in on himself, wrapping his arms around his knees. The omega was still slightly trembling and the alphas could feel the tightness in his muscles. Zayn didn’t have to say anything to know that he was stressed. There was tension in every line of his body.

 

Silently Louis went into the bedroom and grabbed underwear for all of them and an extra pair for himself. All the alphas put on their underwear then Louis slowly let sank himself into the hot water behind the ball of omega. With deft fingers Louis began working the knots out of the muscles of the omegas back and shoulders. The alphas continued to murmur soft soothing words to the omega and kept physical contact with him until the water started to get chilled. The boys got Zayn out of the bath and got him into a soft grey Henley and red plaid sleep pants then wrapped a thick fluffy blanket. Again Liam picked the omega up to take him back downstairs. Niall grabbed a pair of fuzzy printed socks for the omega on his way out of the bedroom.

 

Dr. Gray cleaned and bandaged the scrapes and cuts on Zayn’s hands, knees and feet, informing the alphas that with their care they should heal in a day or two. Niall silently slipped the warm socks onto the omega’s feet to keep them toasty warm. Zayn still hasn’t said anything or looked at anyone. Dr. Gray knows that it is time to discuss the pregnancy with the omega.

 

“Zayn? Can you look at me please?” When Zayn continues to stare off into space, seemingly in another headspace, the doctor reaches out and squeezes his fingers and tries again. “Zayn? We need to talk about the pregnancy.”

 

This word seems to get through to the omega and he startles before turning his attention to the doctor.

 

“Zayn, we know that you heard that you are pregnant… what else did you hear?” When the omega refused to answer, Dr. Gray thought that it would be best to just repeat what she had told the alphas earlier, explaining how Zayn’s body delayed the pregnancy and how he had been pregnant for about four months but that the fetus was only about four weeks. The doctor also explained about the likelihood of miscarriage in a case like this.

 

As she was speaking more tears began to leak from Zayn’s eyes. He was so overwhelmed, this was so much… he didn’t know how to process it.

 

“Now Zayn, you do have some options. You can choose to go through with the pregnancy. As I said the odds of a miscarriage are high, but if that were to happen there would be little to no damage to your physical health. Your mental and emotional health however… an omega is physiologically predisposed to carry children, when they lose one it can have a lasting effect. That being said, you have already been through so much and you have come so far. I know that you will be able to make it through a tragedy like that especially with the help and support of these alphas.”

 

“If you choose to continue with the pregnancy and the child survives, there is a very strong likelihood of the child being born with physical defects and/or developmental issues. You could choose to take care of the child yourself with the help of your alphas. You are well off, you would be able to provide for the child’s medial needs or you could place the child up for adoption.”

 

“Your last option, which I would not normally offer for an omega for reasons that I already stated but this is a special case, is to terminate the pregnancy.”

 

At this Zayn’s head shot up and his hands immediately clutched at his tummy. The alphas and the doctor were stunned by the sudden change in the tiny omegas demeanor. Up until this point he had been silently crying, and now he was loudly sobbing, his breathing labored and he was digging his fingers into his stomach like he was trying to rid himself of the life growing inside of him on his own. It was almost like he was waiting for someone to tell him that it was okay to not want this.

 

Niall quickly grabbed Zayn’s hands to prevent him from hurting himself.

 

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Everything is going to be okay, baby,” Liam soothed, tucking his face into the back of Zayn’s neck and speaking into his ear.

 

Before anymore words were spoken though, the omega began screaming and fighting to get away from the alphas, squirming until he slipped from Liam’s lap and ended up in a tangled heap in the blankets on the floor. As Zayn was fighting off the blankets and trying to back away from the alphas who were stunned and shocked by the ferocity that had taken over Zayn they were able to make out words being ripped from his throat through the hysterics.

 

 _“Don’t call me that! Don’t ever call me that! It is not okay! Nothing is okay! Nothing will ever be okay! Never! I don’t want this! I don’t want it, I don’t want it, I don’t want it!”_ Zayn screamed and cried, his face turning red and blotchy, his breathing becoming labored.

 

Harry was the first to recover from the shock of Zayn’s outburst and slowly approached the omega who was repeating a mantra of “don’t call me that” and “it’s not okay” over and over again. Harry got down on his knees beside Zayn and reached out a tentative hand towards him. “You’re right Z. You’re right. It is not okay, none of this is okay. I am so sorry that you are going through this.”

 

Zayn looks at Harry, calming down slightly, and says through even more tears, “It’s not okay.”

 

“I know, darling. We know. We do. But you will get through this. We are here for you, always.” Liam, Louis and Niall make their way over to the pair and sit beside them, each reinforcing that it is not okay but that they were there for Zayn. Liam even whispers “I’m so sorry; never again, I’m so sorry.”

 

It takes a while until they have calmed the omega down to where his breathing has stabilized and he is no longer gasping for breath. They then move him back to the couch and surround him in a loving embrace.

 

“Zayn,” the doctor says once they are settled again, “do you know what you want to do about the pregnancy?”

 

“I want it out,” the omega said “I can’t do this, I don’t want it. They were monsters and anything that is part any of them is a monster too!”

 

“Okay,” said Dr. Gray, “I will make an appointment for as soon as possible. It will probably take a couple of days to make all the arraignments. I will leave now and get started on that then give Liam a call and let him know. We will take care of this Zayn.” With that Dr. Gray gets up and begins packing up her bag with her medical supplies that she had brought and heads for the door. The alphas don’t bother to show her out, the omega in their care is far more important.

 

Just as the doctor is about to leave, Zayn calls out, “Wait!” Dr. Gray turns around. “The baby… it is half of me too.”

 

He says it like a statement, not a question, but regardless, Louis answers anyway, “Yeah sweetie. It is.”

 

“I am not a monster.”

 

Again, Louis replies, “No, of course you are not. You are the farthest thing from a monster.”

 

Zayn looks like he is trying so hard to figure out something important. “So the baby is half not a monster.”

 

Louis doesn’t want to say anything, but he knows that he has to. If Zayn chooses and goes through with terminating the pregnancy that is something that can never be undone. If he makes the wrong choice… that is something that he will have to live with forever. “Yes, that is true Zayn.”

 

“If I get an abortion… will that make me a monster?”

 

All at once, the four alphas say “no!” with such conviction that Zayn almost has to believe them.

 

“What do I do?” Zayn asks sadly. He looks so lost and confused that the alphas feel their hearts clench.

 

Louis moves so that he is kneeling in front of the omega and looks up into his eyes. “We cannot make this decision for you Z. This is your choice. What I can tell you is that no matter what decision you make, we will all support you. One hundred percent. No questions asked.”

 

“I don’t know what to do. How can I make this decision?”

 

Dr. Gray decided to weigh in at this point. “Zayn, you don’t have to make any decision right now. You will need to decide soon, but you have time to think. I can leave you with the vitamins that you will need for the pregnancy and if you decide latter that you want to terminate it, we can make the arraignments then.”

 

Zayn can only nod. He is not ready to make such a monumental decision. He is still reeling from the shock of everything that has happened that day.

 

“Okay. That is fine. Better than fine really, you should spend some time to really think on this. Just remember that you are stronger than all of your demons.” Dr. Gray then turned to Liam, “Can I speak to you? I would like to explain his medication that he will need.”

 

Liam followed Dr. Gray to the kitchen where she gave him the pills and explained the dosage. Before she left she said “Liam. You saw how he reacted when he smelled the alpha. If he is ever to live a normal life, he has to get use to the scent of alpha. You need to start introducing him to those scents, starting with you four. It is going to be hard, but it needs to happen.”

 

“Okay. Yeah I agree, I think it is time,” Liam agreed.

 

“Go back to your omega. He needs you right now. Let me know when he makes a decision.”

 

“I know, we will,” Liam assured.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read a really sad fic this morning... it got me so distressed that I really considered killing Zayn and having this be the last chapter. But then I got to thinking... I can't do that right now just because I am upset from a fic. That is not fair. 
> 
> So anyway I hope that you enjoy. 
> 
> Feel free not to answer, but I was wondering where all my readers are from. One of my favorite authors did this with their fic and I kind of wanted to copy it! 
> 
> Let me know what you think!!
> 
> By the way I hit 100,000 words... yay me!!


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say something that should be a given... if this story makes you uncomfortable... then please do not read it. I have tried to tag everything, but I am sure that I have missed some things. There are some sadistic topics and scenes in this story... and I have said it before, I will say it again... it is going to get worse. But it will also get better and there will be a happy ending. 
> 
> My brief fling with wanting to end the story suddenly has passed... despite what literally almost everyone who knows me in the real world things... I do have feelings and I do get emotional; and sometimes my feelings and emotions get the better of me and I make bad decisions. But as you can tell, I did not kill off Zayn and this story as continuing as originally planned. There are at least 6 more chapters that I have outlined and probably another 3 more after that. Zayn has it really rough, I admit it... I know that some of you don't like that he is pregnant, or that he got pregnant by someone other than one of the other boys. I get it... I do. But I am trying to make this as realistic as possible as I can considering that this is an A/B/O universe. 
> 
> Every day, in every country, people are beaten and abused, people are raped, and people get pregnant as a result of those rapes. It is a fact, a horrifying one I know. But not out of the realm of possibilities. These instances... there are not even words to describe them... what Zayn is going through... it is terrible. I am sorry that it upsets you, if you have to stop reading, I understand. Stay safe. No story is worth your mental health.
> 
> Also, the sections in italics are kind of like flashbacks... the sections in regular print is more of overview... it makes sense to me... I hope that it comes across well to the reader... if not then I will figure out how to edit it later to make it flow better.

Four months have passed since Zayn found out that he was pregnant with a child from an unfit alpha. Zayn had been unable to make a decision on what to do about the pregnancy, which in effect meant that he made the decision to keep it.  He would have some days where he would want to terminate the pregnancy, but could not reconcile himself not being a monster if he were to purposely kill the fetus growing in his body; no matter how much his band mates told him that it would not make him a monster.  Zayn just could not bring himself to be the cause of a life ended, no matter what it was doing to him emotionally. 

 

Truth be told, the alphas had wished that the omega would have chosen an abortion. They could see how heavily this weighed on Zayn’s mind and emotions and how it was tearing him up inside.  They would never tell him that though.  This was a decision that he needed to make… or not make, depending on how you look at it.  As it was, the boys just made sure to shower Zayn in all the love and protection that they could possibly bestow on him; and as four exceptionally loving and good alphas, that was quite a lot of love and protection.

 

Zayn’s morning sickness was especially rough and always hit in the early morning hours. As a result of that the boys changed their schedule so that they were going to bed at about six in the morning after the sickness had alleviated a bit and getting up in the early evening hours to start their day. 

 

Zayn had lost some weight due to the morning sickness at first since he couldn’t keep down food during the night. To work around that they started making their biggest meal ‘breakfast’ when they first woke up, so that Zayn would be able to keep it down.  Zayn would always be on the smaller side of normal weight range but at least now, he was in the normal range unlike when they first found out he was an omega.  Zayn was no longer skin and bones, but the alphas could feel his ribs and spine when they rubbed his back.  Most of the weight that he gained seemed to go right to his stomach.  He now had a baby bump that was about the size of half a basketball. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The police were still working on trying to identify any alphas that had abused Zayn from samples that they had taken from the shed. It was taking longer than normal because sheets and clothing had been washed, therefore making any evidence they found compromised.  The evidence that they did find, much of it was layered with several different specimens.  It wasn’t a lost cause, but it was a time consuming one.  The police refused to give up though.  The police were even sending some of the samples of evidence overseas to other law enforcement agencies for help.  Even if the victim hadn’t of been an international pop star, this case would have taken top priority due to the nature of the crime.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

As Dr. Gray had advised, the boys began acclimating Zayn to the scent of alphas. They started with Niall going off his neutralizers first because the omega had opened up to the blonde alpha faster than he had with any of the others.  It wasn’t until later, when Zayn was a quivering mess of tears that they had the epiphany that maybe one of the others should have gone first so that Zayn could have turned to Niall for comfort. 

 

_“Zayn, sweetie, I need you to look at me,” Louis said as he sat down as close to the omega as he dared to. Zayn was curled up in the corner of the large reading chair in the living room, his knees pulled up to his chest with his arms wrapped tightly around them.  Louis could see how rigid his posture was and could practically feel the air around him vibrate with the tremors that were wracking through his little body.  When Zayn made no move to lift his face from where it was buried in his knees Louis tried again.  “Zayn, darling, you are safe; nothing bad is going to happen to you.”_

_Louis didn’t really think that he was going to be able to get through to Zayn; they had been trying to get the omega to do something other than tremble and cry since the neutralizers had started wearing off of Niall about two hours previous. The alphas could tell exactly when it had happened, even though they were not able to smell the change yet.  Their sense of smell was good, but Zayn’s, being a pregnant omega, was much better._

_Zayn had been sitting on the couch between Liam and Harry. Zayn was a bit tense, knowing that Niall was going off the neutralizers and the anticipation was making him nervous.  He had elected not sitting next to Niall for that reason.  As soon as the omega smelled the change in scent his whole body went rigid and his breath caught in his chest.  The alphas caught on to his change in demeanor and immediately tried to gently comfort him._

_Liam slowly reached a hand out to gently rub his fingers down the omega’s back and watched as Zayn somehow became impossibly more overwrought. It only took a couple of moments of the contact before Zayn leapt from his seat and scurried away; only making it to the chair before he collapsed into himself, and there he stayed and hadn’t looked up since._

_The boys could hear the omega quietly crying and shuddering; the only time that he stopped was when Niall would try to get closer to comfort him. The first time that Niall had tried, Zayn had broken out in a pure panic, his breath becoming ragged and shallow.  The alphas could smell the fear and sweat that was breaking out all over the omega’s body.  They all yearned to do something for him, anything, that would make this better, easier… but they could only watch as the panic attack took hold and wait for it to pass.  The only thing they could do was coo soft encouraging words to him and pray that they would get through to him._

_It was taking both Liam and Harry to keep Niall calm. Though ‘calm’ probably wasn’t the right word to use.  Seeing Zayn so upset had him distraught.  The best that Liam and Harry could do was keep the blonde alpha’s cries as silent as possible so that it would not distress the omega more.  Together they cuddled Niall tight, petting his hair, and cooing that Zayn would be okay, that he needed this, it was for the greater good.  It did little to sooth Niall’s conscious._

_Eventually the panic attack appeared to have subsided, the omega working himself through it. Louis wanted to reach out and touch him, but he didn’t want to send Zayn back into an attack again.  Louis eventually bit the metaphorical bullet; Zayn refused to look at any of them and he had been stuck in his own head for longer than the alpha liked.  Louis could not allow the omega to get lost in his own head._

_Louis reached out his hand very slowly until it hovered over the omega’s feet. Even his toes were radiating anxiety.  Louis could make out how his toes were arched and spread out even when they were hidden underneath another pair of Niall’s ridiculous colorfully printed fluffy socks.  Louis hesitated before placing the palm of his hand on the top of the omega’s foot.  Zayn jerked his foot back as much as he could but Louis was ready and his hand followed the movement.  When Zayn stopped twitching under his hand, the alpha slowly began moving his hand up his shin until he was able to run his fingers through the omega’s hair at the crown of his head._

_Louis could hear Zayn’s breathing pick up but gentled him with a soothing voice, cooing “Easy, Z. Easy.  You are safe.  Please look at me, yeah?”  Still Zayn did not look up.  Louis gently began carding his fingers through the soft black hair, lightly scratching at the omega’s scalp.  For years everybody had thought that Zayn didn’t like having his hair touched because he was vain, that he didn’t want someone to mess it up; but the alphas had quickly realized that Zayn actually loved having his hair played with.  They had figured it out without Zayn having to say anything that he had never allowed it because he was pretending to be a beta and the omega in him would have shown through had he allowed the action.  Zayn would purr practically anytime the alphas got their fingers in his hair, and that was what Louis was hoping for now._

_After a few minutes of petting, Louis observed that Zayn’s toes had relaxed just a bit and his knuckles where he was griping his legs were not quite so white, though he didn’t purr. The alpha moved his hand slowly down the omega’s neck and around his head to cup lightly at his cheek.  “Please Zayn.”_

_Finally after what seemed like forever, but was more like only a few minutes, Zayn lifted his head just enough to peek out from under his fringe. Louis smiled warmly at him.  “That’s it, good boy; you are such a good boy.”_

_Zayn’s lips were parted and he was breathing through his mouth to try and avoid the smell of alpha. Of course Louis noticed and brought his face closer to Zayn and whispered lowly, “It is just Niall.  You know Niall, he would never hurt you.  He loves you.”_

_“I know. I can’t help it.  I can’t make my body calm down,” Zayn whispered back miserably._

_“You need to let us help you.”_

_“Okay.”_

 

It took three days for Zayn to be able to be in the same room as Niall without the neutralizers and not panic; it was an additional two before he warmed up enough to let Niall cuddle him again. It was a hard time for all of the boys.  Zayn knew, _he knew_ , that it was just Niall’s smell and that Niall would never hurt him.  But the fear was just so predominate.  When he was on the suppressants, they had dulled his scenes so that he was not bothered by the alpha smell.  When he was off the suppressants in the past he was being abused by alphas.  He couldn’t help it that his body was waiting for the pain to come.  It took a lot of soothing words and soft touches to reassure the omega that he was safe. 

 

Liam, Louis and Harry never said it out loud, but they were pretty sure that a small part of Niall broke in an irreparable way during those five long days. Niall couldn’t stand to be the cause of Zayn crying and being so terrified, it ripped him up inside.  He broke down at one point on the second day Niall caved and used the spray neutralizer just so that he could hold the omega and try to sooth him. 

 

_He couldn’t take it anymore. Zayn hadn’t been able to look at him without tears wetting his eyes or his breath catching in his chest.  Niall grabbed the spray and quickly doused himself before going back to the living room where the omega was curled up into Harry’s side.  When the alpha entered the room, Zayn looked up and quickly cowered more into Harry.  Niall tried his best to push that image to the back of his mind and timidly walked over to where Zayn was on the large chair._

_“Niall…” Harry said warningly. His brows furrowed when he didn’t detect an alpha smell coming from the Irish lad.  Harry pursed his lips when he figured out what Niall had done._

_It took a few more moments until Zayn figured out that something was missing since he was holding his breath. When he did, he looked at Niall questioningly.  “I need to hold you.  I hate being the cause of your tears.  I know that we have to go through this, I know you need to get use to the smell of alpha… but I hate seeing you so scared.  Please, let me hold you and comfort you, just for a little bit,” Niall begged the omega._

_Seconds later Niall found himself with an armful of omega as Zayn leapt into his embrace._

 

After that, Liam made Niall shower and urged him to keep with the process as it was for Zayn’s own good. Niall was still upset but fact that Zayn had gone to him so quickly, eased his worries that the omega would never be okay with him again.  It was a ridiculous fear, Niall knew that, but it was soothed all the same. 

 

After Zayn became okay with Niall the other boys each took their turns. It was easier with Harry next because Zayn felt okay enough to turn to Niall for support and comfort.  Louis was last and by the time it got to him the omega was curled up on the couch next to him by the end of the day.  

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn hasn’t left the house; the alphas didn’t think that he was ready to face the outside world. They were right.  The alphas only left the house when it was absolutely necessary, preferring to spend their days close to the tiny omega in their care.  Dr. Gray was still making her weekly visits to check on both Zayn and the fetus growing inside of him.  Dr. Gray was unable to check on the developmental growth of the fetus.  Omega’s bodies are meant to keep a fetus safe so machines like ultrasounds wouldn’t work on them; they only worked on female betas or alpha females that could get pregnant. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn didn’t want to look at social media. He was afraid of what he would find.  He is no stranger to the animosity that people hiding behind their computer screens can spew out for the world to see.  He didn’t want to completely go ghost on their fans.  Their fans have always been there for them.  One day Harry approached Zayn and together they ventured onto Tumblr and Twitter; Harry would screen the messages that he would show Zayn so that he would not see anything negative.  With the alpha’s help Zayn was able to check out some awesome fan art of himself and the boys.  Zayn even retweeted some of his favorites and thanked the fans and expressed how much he loved all of their talent. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

To keep busy the boys began song writing to pass the time. Their tour was canceled indefinitely but they couldn’t walk away from music, even for a little while; it was their passion.  The boys never wrote all together, there were too many ideas and voices to get much work done, so they split up into groups of two and three.  When the groups finished a song, or got stuck somewhere they would switch up the groups to see what improvements they could make.  It was a pretty decent method.

 

It was generally late, right before they went to bed when they would get together and jam. Niall and Harry would have their guitars; Harry was using the down time to practice and he was getting pretty good, Louis would play the piano, sometimes accompanied by Liam, and they would start a beat and make up lyrics as they went along.  It normally ended with a completely stupid song that made no sense at all but it was fun.  Sometimes if they were lucky they would come up with a song that was usable… after someone a little more mature made some tweaks to it of course.  Who knew that you could take a song about KFC and turn it into a single? 

 

When Zayn thought that it was okay they invited Julian and Jamie over to the house to write with them and begin recording some of their new songs that they had been working on. They didn’t know if they were going to use any of them for a future album, but they wanted to get them recorded anyway.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Louis, as the leader of the group, had kept in contact with Simon through everything. He let their boss know about the songs they were writing and recording and of course about Zayn’s condition.  Simon wanted to come and see the boys, hear what they have been working on, and check on the newly revealed omega himself.  Louis didn’t think that it was a good idea and prolonged it as long as he could, but it was going to happen no matter what, Simon was their boss.  Louis was worried about how Zayn would react; his journals had made it quite clear what Yaser had ingrained in his mind. 

 

_“Z? Can you come over here for a moment?” Niall asked. Zayn padded his way over to Niall who grabbed him by his hips and pulled him onto his lap.  Zayn fell into the alpha’s embrace and tucked himself into his chest.  Now instead of feeling fear at the smell of the alphas, he found comfort in their scent._

_“Vas happinin’?”_

_Louis, Harry, and Liam were sitting around the pair and it was Louis that spoke up. “Simon wants to come over to see you and to hear what we have been working on.”_

_At that Zayn’s head flew up to look at the alpha. He didn’t even have to say anything for the alphas to know what was going through the omega’s mind._

_“It is okay. Nothing bad is going to happen, it is just a little informal meeting,” Liam tried to sooth as Zayn began to panic.  It didn’t take very long for Zayn to break though._

_“I don’t want to be sold and I want to stay in the band!” Zayn said with tears forming in his eyes._

_“What!?” Harry almost shrieked. “You are not going to be sold!”_

_“Of course you are going to stay in the band!” Niall said, equally outraged and pulling the omega tighter into his chest._

_Louis came over to Zayn and pried him out of Niall’s vice like grip and pulled the omega into his own lap. Niall refused to let go of him completely and kept the omega’s feet in his lap and began massaging them with deft fingers._

_“I know you’re scared. I know what your father told you, but you have to realize that what he told you were lies.  Even if management or Simon wanted to sell you or kick you out of the band… none of us would allow it.  Never in a million years.  It is not even an option.  If they try to do anything to you or make you do something that you don’t want to do or makes you uncomfortable… we walk.  All of us.  Together.  Got it?”_

_Louis said it with such conviction, such sincerity; Zayn could only look at him with wide wet eyes before nodding his head and wrapping his arms around the alpha and clutching him tightly._

 

The band made arrangements with Simon to have him come over three days later. Zayn tried to hide his nerves from the alphas.  He knew that they didn’t think that anything bad was going to go down with Simon but he still wasn’t so sure.  To add to it, Zayn was getting more and more distraught with the pregnancy as time went on. 

 

The day that Simon was to arrive, Zayn had insisted on privacy to dress himself. It had been twenty minutes and the omega was still upstairs and Harry was getting worried.  When the alpha couldn’t take it anymore he went in search of the omega and found him in the bedroom closet, standing naked in front of the full length mirror.  Zayn had one hand above and the other below his small baby bump and he was staring daggers at it in the reflection of it with silent tears dripping from his jaw bone.  Harry felt his heart clench at the sight. 

 

_Without saying a word the curly haired alpha came up behind Zayn and wrapped his long arms around his chest. Harry held the omega like that for several minutes rocking them back and forth before leading Zayn back to the bed and maneuvering him so that his back was pressed to Harry’s chest.  Harry reached onto the bedside table and grabbed the hair brush that he keeps there and began running it gently through Zayn’s hair._

_The omega’s hair had gotten so long, going from shaggy to completely grown out and curling a little at the ends. Zayn had been wearing headbands to keep it out of his face and it was even long enough now that he could pull it back into a small ponytail.  It was a look so different than anything that he had ever worn before, previously always opting for the shaved sides and quiff.  He had let it get a little shaggy once before, but never like this.  It was a good look for him; it made him look softer, younger.  The hair brushing had the desired effect; soon Zayn’s tears had stopped and were replaced by a soft purring rumble in his chest that eventually tapered off as his breathing evened out and he fell asleep._

_Liam came up soon after that in search of his two bandmates. Simon was going to be there soon.  When he saw Zayn sleeping peacefully in Harry’s arms his heart melted.  It was such a beautiful sight.  Harry mouthed ‘stressed’ to Liam so as not to wake him yet and Liam nodded before grabbing a throw blanket and tucking it gently around the still naked omega then heading downstairs.  Liam figured that when Simon got there he could listen to the new songs first before Zayn was brought down.  With as stressed as the omega had been, he needed rest and Simon could wait._

 

Simon arrived and listened to the music that Niall, Louis, and Liam had gotten ready for him. If he was in anyway put out by Zayn and Harry not greeting him as soon as he got there he didn’t show it.  Simon loved the new songs and suggested that because the tour was canceled and the rumors that were flying around that this was the end of One Direction, that maybe they should put out an album, even if it was just an EP; just something to give to the fans to let them know that they are still very much together.  Since the songs were already written anyway, all they would need was a bit more production and some finishing touches. 

 

The alphas were against any type of photo shoot for an album, due to Zayn’s condition, but Niall suggested that maybe the artwork could be done by Zayn to show off his artistic talents. Simon loved the idea.  They decided that they would talk some more on all the matters later after the alphas had a chance to get Zayn and Harry up to speed and get their input on everything. 

 

Harry eventually woke Zayn up and got him dressed to talk to Simon. The omega seemed much more relaxed than he had earlier, so that was a good sign.  Simon had wanted to speak with Zayn in private, but at his hesitation and the alpha’s protests, he conceded that it was a poor idea and apologized. 

 

The meeting went pretty well, even though Zayn spent most of it answering Simon’s questions from where he was hiding his face in Liam’s neck. Simon reiterated to the omega that he would not be sold, that he would be in the band for as long as he wanted, he was a valuable asset to the group and that the band would not be expected to do anything until he was ready both physically and emotionally. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It was three weeks after Simon’s visit that it happened. The bandmates had been hard at work getting their songs ready for a new album, everything had been recorded, the songs had been picked and Zayn was almost done with all of the artwork for the album.  Zayn found that working on a project like that really took his mind off things.  He was still being haunted by the voices, but when he was engulfed with his art he could push it to the background. 

 

The omega was painting, trying to incorporate lots of color to his designs. At first he didn’t even notice the red on his joggers and when he did he figured that he must have spilled some red paint without noticing.  It wasn’t until he felt a strong cramp in his stomach that he knew that something was wrong.  Zayn dropped what he was working on and clutched his belly, stumbling out into the living room where the alphas were.  He dropped to his knees when another cramp, stronger this time hit.

 

The alphas rushed over to him. It took them a few moments to figure out what was wrong.  The windows in the house had been opened to allow airflow and ventilation for the paints but the chemical smell was still strong on the omega due to the paint covering his clothing and skin.

 

“Zayn, you’re bleeding,” Niall said fearfully.

 

 “I’m calling Paul!  We have to get you to the hospital!” Louis shouted pulling out his cell phone. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you all will continue reading this story... I have so much more planned. 
> 
> Thank you to all that answered my survey on where you are from... it is amazing to find out that you readers come from all over the world. Logically I knew that readers on AO3 come from all over... but it is different actually seeing and hearing where you are from. 
> 
> I had someone request to translate this story into Russian. At this time, I am not sure that I am comfortable with that. When I have finished this story I will come back to the request and reconsider it at that time, but for right now while it is a work in progress I would like to keep it just in English, a large reason being that I am still going through and revising past chapters. But thank you for your generous offer!
> 
> I hope that you all enjoyed... let me know what you think and as always... Thank you for reading and for your support!
> 
> All the love - WrennAddysen


	27. Chaper 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I had a bit of writer's block so this took far longer then I wanted it too. Hope you enjoy.

They had been in the hospital for four days.  Paul had rushed all of the boys to the hospital after he received a phone call from a frantic Louis.  Zayn had bled the whole ride there and he had been rushed into private examination room where Dr. Gray met them having been contacted by Paul while en route.  An examination by Dr. Gray confirmed her initial suspicions. 

 

The omega had miscarried. 

 

Zayn was taken away from the alphas almost immediately for emergency surgery to remove the fetus. 

 

Despite knowing that Zayn was in good hands and that the surgery was a necessity, the alphas did not respond well to having their omega taken from them.  Their omega was bleeding and had just been told that he had lost his child.  They did not want him out of their sights.  Niall was so upset that he was given a light sedative in an attempt to calm him.  All the boys and Paul were then taken to a private waiting room for the duration of the procedure.  Dr. Gray came to get them when it was done and assured them that Zayn was physically fine and they could wait with the omega in his room until he woke. 

 

The omega woke up from the anesthesia to find himself in a hospital room with the doors closed and blinds pulled down surrounded by his alpha bandmates.  He wasn’t awake for very long and passed out again without saying anything.  He spent the rest of the day in and out of consciousness, but the boys never left his side.  At least one of them always had physical contact with the omega, holding his hand, rubbing his feet, running gentle fingers through his hair. 

 

The hospital mandated, and Dr. Gray agreed, that Zayn stay in the hospital for 72 hours.  This was to make sure that an omega that had miscarried or delivered stillborn were of sound mind before they were discharged.  Zayn didn’t say much during the three days that he was made to stay hospitalized, only muttering a few words here and there. 

 

Dr. Gray was border lining on not discharging the omega because she was not able to accurately tell what kind of headspace he was in.  But management so far had been able to keep the pregnancy, miscarriage, and hospitalization quiet and out of the press and the longer that he stayed the less likely it was that it would continue.  Dr. Gray finally conceded that the best place for Zayn was at home with his alphas.  She let the alphas give Zayn the good news. 

 

“Hey Zayn, it’s time to go home love,” Harry said gently leaning over the omega to whisper in his ear.  Zayn had been lightly dozing and Harry didn’t want to frighten him.   

 

Zayn whimpered slightly as he woke up and rubbed his face in his pillow before bringing his fist up to rub at his eyes.  “Home?” the omega asked so quietly that the alphas wouldn’t have been able to hear had they not been so attuned to him. 

 

“Yeah love.  The doctor says that you can go home with us today,” Niall says climbing into the hospital bed behind Zayn and spooning him carefully being sure not to pull on any of the tubes or cords connected to his body.  “The nurse will be in soon to unhook you, then we just have to get you dressed then we can go home.

 

Sure enough a nurse came in a few minutes later and began unhooking Zayn from all the machines in the room.  It wasn’t a lot, just a few monitors and an IV to keep him hydrated but the omega still felt sticky and gross when they were done; he also had a few minor bruises from where he had been poked with needles.  For someone with as many tattoos that the omega has, he is really not a fan of needles.  After the nurse left the boys quickly assisted the omega in getting into comfy clothes.  They were all quite eager to be out of the hospital; all of them feeling like they had spent enough time in there to last the rest of their lives. 

 

Security was able to take the boys out a back entrance and into a waiting white SUV and they made their way home.  The first thing on their To Do list when they arrived back at the house was bathing.  While they all used the shower in the hospital during the four days that they were there, there was something about the sterile cold bathrooms that kept them from feeling really clean. 

 

Liam immediately went to start running warm water in the tub for Zayn, it going unspoken that he would take the bath while the rest took the shower.  The omega was still too fragile to be standing for any amount of time on a slippery surface and his body was bound to be sore, the hot water would do him good; loosening his muscles and easing his joints.  Liam put in a healthy dose of lavender and chamomile oils and soaps knowing that it would help to calm Zayn. 

 

Meanwhile, Niall had been gathering fresh clothes for everyone to change into once they were all clean. 

 

Harry called in a massive food order from his favorite specialty shop in town that served all kinds of fresh fruit and vegetable plates, along with specialty cheeses and artisan breads, and lean cold cut meats.  Everything was very healthy but not too heavy, basically the perfect kind of food for Zayn to be eating.  Harry made sure to order enough to be left over for snacking later in the day as well.

 

Louis took Zayn into the loo and helped him undress; slowly lifting his arms and peeling off the hoodie and t-shirt he was wearing.  There was a small scar from the incision on his belly but it had already healed and in time the scar too would fade.  The alpha then carefully hooked his fingers in the waist band of the omega’s joggers and pants and pulled them down, cupping the back of each calf separately to lift his feet out of the material. 

 

After he was undressed, Louis handed Zayn over to Liam and Niall who helped him down into the warm water.  Louis and Harry took the shower first, hopping in together.  They washed each other’s hair, just enjoying the touch of another person.  There wasn’t anything sexual, just comfort. 

 

Zayn thought that the bath was wonderful.  It was just what he needed, the water was silky there was just enough steam in the room to make it feel like all the bad thoughts were being purged from his body, it was so relaxing.  Niall had started washing his hair, scrubbing his fingers on the omega’s scalp in tender circles.  The whole experience was made even better by Liam taking a cup from the counter and filling it with the warm bath water and slowly pouring it over his exposed skin.  The feeling of the water running down his chest and shoulders was blissful and Zayn felt his body unwind at the sensation. 

 

A short time later the alphas were switching positions to allow Liam and Niall to get in the shower.  Louis took over running conditioner through the omega’s hair then lightly scrubbing his body with soap.  He had to be careful not to harm Zayn’s tender skin.  There were patches of sticky residue from some of the monitoring patches that Louis gently worked off with a soft flannel. 

 

Knowing that it needed to be done, Harry took all of their discarded clothing and the bags that Preston had brought them to the hospital and took them to the washer to start laundry.  Five boys over four days… that was a lot of dirty clothes.  It could have waited, Harry supposed, but he could still smell the scent of the hospital wafting from the fabric and wanted it gone.  So laundry it is. 

 

By the time Harry made it back to the loo, Liam and Niall were getting dressed and Louis was pulling the plug on the bathtub water.  Harry went over to help get Zayn back on his feet and wrapped him in a large towel.  Together he and Louis patted his skin dry and got him dressed in a warm cream colored cable knit jumper and red flannel sleep pants.  Again, Niall had brought a pair of fluffy printed socks, this time with dancing hippos in tutus, for Zayn to wear.  Harry shook his head and hid a smile as Niall snatched them from his hands to put them on the omega himself. 

 

Liam carried Zayn down to the living room and placed him on the couch just as Paddy was bringing in the food that had been delivered.  The alphas took turns feeding Zayn bites of food while the telly played in the background.  After he had eaten his fill Zayn fell asleep leaning back against Harry with his feet in Louis lap.  Seeing the omega relaxed and safe and home the other boys quickly followed him into dreamland. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It was a couple of hours later that Liam woke.  At first he wasn’t sure what had woken him and almost fell back asleep before he heard a low whimper.  Immediately on alert

The alpha jerked his head up looking for the source of the distressed sound.  His eyes zeroed in on the omega laying behind him on the couch, who was still laying sprawled out over Louis and Harry.  Niall was next to Louis with his head in his lap next to Zayn’s knees, an arm wrapped protectively around the omega’s legs. 

 

At first Liam was worried that the omega was scared, what with being surrounded by alphas and all but he appeared to be asleep, as did his fellow alphas.  Upon closer inspection Liam noticed that Zayn’s fingers were digging into his belly.  Dr. Gray had warned him that this could happen.  Omegas who had lost a baby sometimes get phantom pains in their abdomen, it could feel anywhere between slight discomfort to stabbing pains, similar to contractions.  Zayn was still asleep so it must not have been on the worse end of the spectrum and for that Liam was eternally grateful. 

 

Liam turned around from where he was leaning against the couch so that he was on his knees beside the omega.  He tenderly removed the gripping fingers and moved the omega’s hands farther up the omega’s chest leaving them to rest, then lifted Zayn’s jumper just enough to slip his hands under to run his fingers on the sleep warm skin there.  Liam lovingly placed his hands on the expanse of skin there and kneaded his fingers like the doctor had told him to do should this happen.  The muscles under his deft fingers were taught and knotted, and Liam could feel them quivering under his touch.  Undeterred, he continued, rubbing his thumbs into the dips of the omega’s abs and massaging until he felt the omega’s body sooth and relax under his ministrations. 

 

It was something so little, so minimal, but Liam felt accomplished.  There was so much that he had missed, so many signs that he had overlooked that had led to the turn of events that had transpired.  He would never forgive himself for failing the omega before him.  But right then, in that moment, he knew that he had done something right.  Right then he had been the alpha that Zayn had needed and he felt good. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The boys had been home for a few days now.  They were still worried because Zayn still wasn’t talking.  He would say one word answers every once in a while, but no full sentences.  The boys had been asking him yes or no questions to try and gauge how he was feeling but ‘yes’ or ‘no’ could only get you so far when you were trying to determine the headspace of an abused omega who had lost a child that was the result of said abuse. 

 

Zayn himself was having a hard time sorting out how he was feeling.  He hadn’t kept silent because he was upset or distraught or in shock; it was quite the opposite really.  Zayn felt… relieved.  It was like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.  It was a horrible thing that his baby… something that was a part of him, something that had been growing inside of him, had perished.  It was awful and sad; but at the same time, a sense of ease had settled in his bones.  It was like, this was meant to happen, and the course of action was out of the omega’s hands.  He had done what he could but in the end the baby was not meant to survive, like Louis’ tattoo ‘it is what it is’. 

 

All that being said, Zayn couldn’t help but feel like he should feel more anguish about losing the baby; it was a part of him.  It was just taking time for him to reconcile all of these thoughts and emotions, or lack of emotions with himself.  Zayn had always leaned a bit towards the introverted side.  In the early days Zayn would switch between introverted and extroverted personas depending on the situation and surroundings.  He got better with being more outgoing towards the end of X-Factor; all the new experiences and people along with the confidence boost let him break out of his shell, but recent events had him retreating back into what was more natural for him. 

 

Zayn was also waiting for the voices to start tormenting him again.  He hadn’t heard them since the day that he lost the baby.  It was strange in a way.  The voices had been a part of his every day for months and months and suddenly they were absent.  He couldn’t get his hopes up that they had actually disappeared permanently.  Could he?  Nothing had changed really; he hadn’t been treated for the voices because he never told anyone about them so why would they suddenly be silent.  It had been over a week.  It was strange. 

 

At the same time Zayn felt that there was something vital that he was missing.  Some piece of the puzzle that he just couldn’t wrap his mind around.  Something was there in the far corners of his mind, just out of reach, that would explain away all of these feelings that he was having.  Zayn was just trying to figure out what it was. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Louis received the phone call from Dr. Gray and one look at Liam as he was heading upstairs to take the call privately had the brown eyed alpha following him, leaving Harry and Niall to care for the omega who was currently cuddled up between the two of them looking positively adorable with sweater paws, glasses and a beanie perched on his head. 

 

Louis had always been the leader of the group, he was the oldest after all and between all of them, he was the only one with little siblings.  Liam, Harry and Niall were each the youngest in their families and Zayn was an only child.  It was natural for him to step into the role of caring for the others.  Liam, despite being the youngest in the family and the middle child of the band, was the responsible one.  It wasn’t his role to be in charge that the others followed but he was sensible and the others looked to him for his judgement.  He and Louis had a good understanding of their dynamics in the group, so it was just natural for them to take this phone call together. 

 

On the opposite side of the spectrum, both Harry and Niall were both more nurturing rather than leaders.  Harry took care of others physically; he liked making sure everyone was eating healthy foods and were comfortable in their surroundings.  He took particular joy in making sure that their omega was warm, always wrapping him in warm clothes and blankets.  Zayn was still quite thin and with so little body fat he got chilled easily.  Niall was the one who made sure that everyone was happy and chipper.  It had been a bit straining the last few months, everything that had happened was deep and getting the other boys to laugh and have fun was at times impossible, so he had settled on just being there for comfort, relying on just his presence to be enough when words or laughs could not happen.  The two alphas were perfectly content with staying with Zayn while Liam and Louis took the phone call.

 

The two alphas were gone for a long time.  Zayn wasn’t really invested in the show on the telly and had pacified himself with running his fingers through Harry’s curls.  Harry maneuvered himself to the floor in front of the omega so that he could have more access to his hair and Zayn hummed happily in response.  Seeing that Zayn was enjoying himself, Niall handed him the brush on the table that was usually used on Zayn’s long hair.  Zayn took it and immediately took the brush to Harry’s curls and in no time made them a frizzy mess.  Zayn wished that he had some bows or flowers to put in his hair.  Harry was so pretty and the omega thought it would be fun to do something pretty with his hair. 

 

Finally Liam and Louis come downstairs to join the others, both immediately breaking out into laughs and giggles at the state of Harry’s hair which is sticking out in all directions, his curls almost undistinguishable due to the brushing.  If Lou could see him know she would have a coronary.   

 

“Looking good Haz,” Liam said grinning.

 

Harry looked nothing but proud when he said, “Anything for Z, as long as he is happy he can do whatever he wants.  I’m thinking about keeping this style for a while.”  Zayn blushed a deep pink at his words and tried in vain to tame the fluffy mess that he had created. 

 

“So Z,” Louis started as the two alphas oriented themselves back into the group surrounding the omega.  “That was Dr. Gray.”  Zayn nodded; when they left he had figured that it had been her calling.  The alphas hadn’t said anything about waiting for her to contact them, but they didn’t have to.  Zayn knew.  “She did some tests and she just let us know the results.  It has to do with the baby and the assaults.  I think that we all need to talk about it but if you don’t want to right now we understand.  It is up to you.”

 

The omega took a deep breath and nodded, “It’s okay.”

 

Niall leaned over slightly and kissed the top of Zayn’s head.  He was so proud of how strong their omega was. 

 

“Dr. Gray said that the baby hadn’t developed properly from the start of the pregnancy.  It could have been caused by the delay in pregnancy or by something else, like the trauma that your body experienced, since you were technically dead for a bit when we first got to you.” 

 

At those words, Zayn shuddered.  He didn’t remember any of that of course, but he remembered the events leading up to it quite clearly.  Harry gently squeezed his ankle. 

 

Louis continued talking in a low voice trying to be as calming as he could be.  “She said that there was no way that the baby ever would have survived even if you would have carried it to full term.  She said that there were serious defects both physically and developmentally.  She said that it was like all of the horrors that you went through manifested physically in the baby.” 

 

Liam speaks up now, “She was able to get DNA from the baby and it was sent off to the police to run through their databases.  She said that it would be easier for them to match that DNA than it has been to match the samples that came from the shed because it was fresh, nothing was tampered with.  She is hopeful that they might be able to match it to an alpha.  If that happens then we will be that much closer to getting some justice for you.”

 

Zayn didn’t really care about justice.  He just wanted to forget and move on, but he knew that the alphas felt differently.  It was important that someone, everyone, responsible for what happened to Zayn be punished.  He knew that they wouldn’t rest until that happened, even if it took the rest of their lives. 

 

Zayn was more focused on what Louis had said about the baby.  It sounded like the baby was some sort of monster.  Over the course of the night Zayn kept thinking about what Dr. Gray had said and about his own feelings on the baby and the miscarriage.  Finally something clicked.  It was like this revelation had been there all along, in the dark recesses of his mind and it just took one little flick to turn on the light and show him what he was missing. 

 

The voices started after the first week of the three month long break.  Right after his last “natural, if you could call it that” heat had ended.  His father had injected him with the drug to induce the fake heat and the voices had started.  Zayn had always associated the voices with the drug, but Dr. Gray had never said anything about any of the side effects being hearing voices.  What if the voices were his body’s reaction to the pregnancy?  The timeline fit of when he would have gotten pregnant. 

 

The more Zayn thought about it the more likely it became.  His body knew that he was pregnant, his body held off the pregnancy while he was still being abused but his body still knew.  The voices were a manifestation of the pregnancy, _of the baby_ , it was like a poison.  _The baby was the cause of the voices; the baby was poisoning him the whole time._  That is why the voices stopped.  The baby was dead; the cause of the voices was gone. 

 

It all made sense now.  Zayn felt like he was free.  It was like another invisible weight was holding him down and had just been snapped.  Zayn felt hope.  It was a wonderful thing. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The next morning after breakfast Zayn surprised the alphas not only by talking but by what he said. 

 

“When we left the hospital you said we were going home.  When are we going?”

 

The alphas were stunned and it showed on their facial expressions.  All of their mouths dropped their eyes almost bugged out of their sockets.  What did Zayn mean?  They were home.  Surely he didn’t want to go back to Bradford?  The alphas didn’t even have to look to each other for confirmation… Zayn would only be going back there over their dead bodies. 

 

Niall was the first one to get a grip on himself and ask, “What do you mean sweetie?  We are home.”

 

Shaking his head the omega turned to Louis and pointed to his arm while simultaneously holding up his own hand.  All he said was “Bus 1.”

 

It took a moment for it to click with Louis; Zayn was pointing out their matching tattoos that they got for their beloved bus.  While the other boys liked to spend their time on tour going between the bus and the hotel rooms, both Louis and Zayn preferred to spend most nights on the bus only rarely sleeping in hotels.  The bus was symbolic of home for them, a place that was theirs that didn’t change every night. 

 

“You want to go back on tour?” Louis asked. 

 

“Yeah.  I think I’m ready.  I want to be normal.  Not that what we do is really normal… but I want to go back to what is normal for us.  Without the abuse and without me pretending to be something I’m not of course,” Zayn tried to joke.  It didn’t go over very well what with all of the alphas giving out low growls that made their chests and the air around them vibrate.  It had Zayn mumbling out a soft “sorry” and hanging his head a bit. 

 

Liam immediately cupped his hand on the omega’s cheek.  “It’s okay.  Are you sure that you are ready for this?  This is the most you have said since we got back here, we don’t want you doing anything that you are uncomfortable with.”

 

The rest of the day was spent with Zayn opening up to the alphas in a way that he hadn’t been before.  He finally told them about the voices, when they started, when they ended, and his epiphany on the cause behind them.  There were tears and gentle reprimands from the alphas about Zayn keeping that secret.  If he had told them before maybe they would have figured it all out sooner.  Maybe they could have prevented some of the anguish that the omega had felt, eased it somehow.  They would never know of course, but what was done was done now.  There was no changing it.   

 

The whole day is spent bonding and deciding what their future holds.  Louis calls Simon and tells him that they are ready to go back to work.  Their next album is already written and recorded for the most part, all they have to do is actually put it together and decide what songs they want to use.  Simon says that he will get management set to work on setting up tour dates.  Zayn wants to get to it soon, ready to start his new life as an omega in a band with his best mates and quite possibly future alphas (officially, he still is not ready to actually mate with them and told them such).  Because it is last minute and they want to get out soon, the tour might not be as big as the one that they cancelled but they are the biggest band in the world, and they have been out of the limelight for quite some time with drama coming out of their ears, Simon is confident that they will get bookings and that the tour will be a success.  Of course there is also promo to plan for the album and tour.  Simon says that he will make some calls and will get back to the boys when some of the details have been hammered out. 

 

All in all, life is looking good for the boys for the first time in too long.  They all go to bed that night with happy smiles and contented sighs. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that this clears some things up on why some of the things that happened, happened. 
> 
> I have been feeling really down and depressed lately, the holidays always do that to me. So either I will immerse myself in writing to get away from the sad feelings or I will shy away from it and wallow in my sad excuse of existence. I'm not sure yet. The story is far from over though... so don't worry. 
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think!!


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honor of One Direction's last performance before they take their much deserved break. 
> 
> OT4 support, but OT5 forever!

Everything was a bit chaotic and nothing was going as a normal album release and world tour announcement would.  Management had succeeded in booking about 50 dates for the tour along with dozens of interviews around the globe.  There was really no rhyme or reason to locations due to the last minute planning of everything.  The tour dates would start in two months’ time.  Until then the boys would be doing promo for the album that would be released the following week.  Their first stop was America for in interview on Good Morning America where they would also be dropping their first single off the album and preforming it for the first time live. 

 

The interview and performance would be in front of a live audience.  Normally for Good Morning America the performance would be held outside on a small stage being surrounded by their fans.  Zayn thought that he would be fine with that but the alphas would have none of it.  There was always the risk of bad weather and they didn’t want to risk their omega’s health, but even more concerning was that there were so many external factors when you are hosting a performance outside.  It was harder to control and monitor.  All of the boys trusted their security with their lives, there was no question about that.  Any member of their security team would go to any length to keep them safe; but their omega had been abused right under all of their noses.  This was their first time as a fivesome out in public since everything happened; they would not take any unnecessary risks; so if that meant pulling some strings to get the performance and interview to be inside the studio, so be it. 

 

It was a long flight to America; not the longest that they have been on by any means, but still long.  Before they would split up on different private planes to get there; some traveling in pairs and others flying by themselves.  Their security team determined a long time ago that it was safer to separate them so that they wouldn’t be as large of a target in the unlikely event that someone was out to harm them.  That whole logic went out the window this time around though.  The fierce protectiveness of the alphas nature could not allow any of them to be separated from the omega when the only thing separating him from the ocean was the steel belly of a plane and thousands of feet of air.  Paul was less than thrilled with this turn of events and went through all of the reasons that the five of them traveling together was a bad idea, but it was for show more than anything.  Once the boys made up their mind there was no changing it and he knew that. 

 

Zayn had never been a good flyer, ever since that first time when he had been sat by Louis who told him that the plane would do a “loop de loop” when it got in the air.  Zayn was sat beside Liam during takeoff and squeezed his hand so tight that it cut off circulation to the alpha’s fingers.  Liam took it all in stride of course, leaning over the scared omega and placing soft kisses on his temple and murmuring quiet reassurances in his ear letting him know that everything was okay.  After they had finished their assent and the piolet said that it was safe to move around, Louis came over and unbuckled the omega’s safety belt. 

 

“C’mon sweetie, I have a surprise for you,” Louis grinned. 

 

Louis lead Zayn, with the other alphas following close behind to the back of the plane where there were two small bedrooms and a small loo.  Well… where there use to be two small bedrooms and a small loo. 

 

It took Zayn a few moments to find his voice, and when he did his words wouldn’t form a cohesive sentence.  “What… how?  When… how?” he finally was able to stutter out. 

 

Niall, ever the chipper ball of sunshine couldn’t hold back any longer.  “It was Lou’s idea.  Right after you got out of the hospital the first time.  He sold one of the planes, figured that we would never need more than two again and that would only be for emergencies since none of us will let you out of our sight.  He used the money to remodel this one since it is the biggest.”

 

The whole back section of the plane had been redesigned.  In place of the three small rooms there was now only two.  The very back going along the whole width of the plane was one bedroom with a large King sized bed.  It was smaller than the one in Harry’s house but still large enough to fit all five of them.  There was also a flat screen telly hanging from the wall that was connected to a blue-ray player and a couple of gaming consoles.  The walls were covered in what appeared to be some of Zayn’s artwork.  The loo had been moved to right outside the door and had been enlarged to fit two sinks as well as a small shower. 

 

“Do you like it?” Louis asked, his voice unusually quiet.  Zayn had been unable to tear his eyes away from the large bed, but he did now at the unease that he could hear in the alpha’s voice.  “I didn’t like the idea of us sleeping apart.  I know how uneasy you get when we are in the air… I wanted to make this some place relaxing for you.  I took pictures of your art and had it printed out on canvases.  Please say something… if you don’t like it,” the rest of his sentence was cut off when the omega through his arms around his neck and pulled him into a fierce hug. 

 

“I love it.  Thank you.”

 

And really that is all that Louis wanted to hear.  They all climbed into the large bed and soon after were drowsing peacefully.  It was the most relaxed that Zayn had ever been on a flight, surrounded by his best friends, his alphas. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“Now the moment that you have all been waiting for, allow me to introduce, the world’s biggest boy band, straight off of their unexpected hiatus, ONE DIRECTION!”  The studio erupted in cheers and screams as the cameras turned to face the entrance of the stage.  The screaming continued as Louis walked through the door, followed by Niall, Zayn, Liam and Harry.  It was almost tangible, the reaction of the fans when they laid eyes on Zayn for the first time really since it had come out that he was an omega.  He had only been seen in public leaving the hospital.  He could practically hear twitter having a meltdown at his appearance. 

 

The boys took their seats, Louis and Niall on the couch with Zayn between them and Harry and Liam behind them stools close enough that they could reach a hand out and touch the omega to calm him if needed.  After a few moments the audience in the studio calmed enough that the host, a beta named Matt, began to speak. 

 

“Wow!  What a welcome!  I bet you boys get that where ever you go, but it has been a while hasn’t it? How does it feel?”

 

“It feels great,” Liam said.  “We are so lucky to have such wonderful fans who are always there for us, always supporting us.”  The other boys nodded in agreement. 

 

“Now Zayn, I have to ask you some questions,” the interviewer started.  “We haven’t seen you in a while, only once since you came out as an omega.”  Zayn nodded, twisting his fingers together nervously.  Louis noticed and lightly patted the omega’s knee before leaving it there.  “I saw you earlier today when you got to the studio and your hair was much different… tell me what made you decide on the change?” 

 

The omega laughed and rubbed at his bottom lip with his finger before running his hand along the side of his head where it was now shaven, the hair at the crown of his head was long and pulled back into a topknot.  “Well, it just felt like the thing to do I guess.  This feels like a new chapter of my life.  I’m no longer hiding who I am, I am safe with these boys and I just wanted something tangible to signify that.”

 

“We have some pictures of you when you arrived, lets show the viewers what they missed.”  With that, the screen behind the stage lit up with several photos of Zayn and the boys backstage.  In the photos Zayn’s hair was long and shaggy, parted down the middle and several showed the omega gently pushing the strands back out of his face.  Then up popped a picture of the omega in a styling chair with Lou behind him with clippers in hand and half of his head shaved.  The audience of course went wild.  “I think I can hear millions of hearts breaking right now,” the beta said with a grin.  “All joking aside though, I do like the new style, it is very becoming of you.”

 

Zayn was unable to hide a bit of a blush on his cheeks as he thanked the host. 

 

“So Zayn,” Matt began, “you are an omega.” 

 

“Yes.  I am.”

 

“And up until a few months ago, no one, not even your bandmates or management team knew that you were an omega?  They all thought that you were a beta, is that correct?”  Matt asked.

 

“My parents knew.  They knew since I presented.  The unfit alphas that hurt me also knew obviously, but no, the boys and management didn’t know.”

 

“Do you know how many there were?  How many alphas that your parents found?”

 

“No.  I think that some of them were repeaters, but I don’t know how many there were in total.  I did my best to block it all out while it was happening.  I don’t remember their faces for the most part.  The only ones I really remember were the last two.”  Zayn visibly shuddered as the mental image of the alpha twins popped into his mind.  Almost like they were seeing the same thing he was, his alpha band mates all reached out for him, touching the omega, on the knee, shoulder, back of the head, Niall even grabbed his hand. 

 

“Yes, those two.  David and Dillion I believe their names were.  They were disposed of when the alphas here found you if I am not mistaken.  Their knots were removed and they were left to bleed out.”  All the blood seemed to drain from the omega’s face at the interviewers words.  He knew that the alpha twins had died, but he has little memory of how it happened.  He never wanted to know so he had never asked.  It was strange that the interviewer knew this information and he didn’t. 

 

Sensing his distress, Louis gently ran his hand up the omega’s thigh and squeezed.  He was waiting for any indication that Zayn was done with this interview.  He knew the omega was strong and could handle a lot, but this beta was grinding his nerves.  His tone was callous and it irritated him that he seemed to know more than what had previously been made public.  All Zayn had to do was give him a signal and he would rip this guy a new one, live audience be damned. 

 

When none of the boys made a comment, Matt continued, “They had both knotted you is that correct?  One was in your arse, the other in your mouth?  They were both pretty large, yes?”

 

It seemed that Liam had had enough with this line of questioning, “Our omega almost died that day.  We thought that we were going to lose him.   We thought that we did lose him.  It was terrifying for all of us and what was done, was done to save Zayn’s life.  I think that we are done with those types of questions, so if you would please move on.”  Liam glared at the interviewer. 

 

Niall leaned over and whispered in the omega’s ear using his hands to block the microphone hooked to their shirts, “Are you okay?  Do we need to take a break, or end this?  It is okay, I promise you.” 

 

Zayn took a noticeable breath and mouthed “I’m fine,” before turning back to Liam and giving him a grateful smile. 

 

But the slight smile didn’t last long.  “Your omega?  Does that mean that you have mated him then?”

 

“We won’t do anything until Zayn is ready,” Harry replied coldly. 

 

“But if you are saying that he is yours that must mean that you have claimed him?” the interviewer continued.

 

“That is not something that we feel comfortable discussing right now,” Niall said tightly.  He did not appreciate the tone that the beta was taking.  Alphas claim omegas, it is true, but they do not own them.  This man was acting like Zayn was some sort of property.

 

“I have a source that told me that the omega was pregnant.  Were one of you the father of his baby?  The one that he aborted?  How did that make you feel?”

 

The whole studio, full of audience and crew instantly became so silent you could hear a pin drop.  Zayn was in shock, the sound of the blood pounding in his ears was deafening and he felt lightheaded.  No one was supposed to know about the pregnancy.  Management had kept it out of the press, the hospital staff that he was exposed to was kept to a minimum and non-disclosure agreements were in place with every one of them.  His records were under a pseudonym to protect his identity.  How did this interviewer, who was on the other side of the world from where it had happened, know about this? 

 

Zayn felt his chest tighten painfully.  He was not aware of the chaos that was erupting around him as his bandmates registered what the interview had said.  Zayn felt his vision going black at the edges and he couldn’t breathe properly.  It felt like there was a lead weight on his chest, restricting his ability to bring air into his lungs.  There was the feeling of pins and needles all over his body like he had been plunged into ice water. 

 

He needed to get away.  He couldn’t break down here, he was not safe.  He couldn’t see the eyes of the audience on him but he could feel them staring daggers into his soul, judging him.  He needed to escape.  Like the day that he found out that he was carrying a child, Zayn ran. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The omega couldn’t really see where he was going through the wetness in his eyes, but he ran anyway.  It was a struggle; his whole body was trembling, making his legs weak and almost unable to carry him.  Zayn darted around any blurry image that came before his eyes.  With the amount of people in the studio he shouldn’t have been able to get far, someone could have stopped him, grabbed him and held him until his alphas caught up to comfort him.  But no one dared to even try to touch him.  No beta or omega would risk the wrath of the alphas of an omega who was in such obvious distress.  Even if they were not the cause of it they could find themselves as the brunt of hostility or violence of the omega’s alpha.  The alpha would lash out at anyone that was near their omega when the omega was in that type of misery. 

 

Alphas that were in the studio, as much as they felt compassion for the omega and wanted nothing more than to ease his suffering and make everything better, would have to have been bat shit crazy to try and stop the omega.  If any of them, even the band’s security, touched the omega or was caught with him by his bandmates, it would have come to a fight. 

 

So as it was, Zayn was able to run from the stage and through the back corridors, only being hindered by tripping over crates and banging into racks of clothing.  The omega didn’t know where he was going or what he was doing, all he knew was that he needed an escape. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Back at the stage the alphas had split up.  Niall and Liam had taken off after Zayn when he bolted from his seat.  Louis knew that Zayn was much faster than them but had absolute faith in them that they would catch the omega.  Louis couldn’t contain his anger and as he turned away from the retreating silhouettes of his omega and two fellow alphas; he was ready to explode.  How dare that fucking beta say things like that about their omega!

 

However, Louis’ rage was quick to calm as he set his eyes on Harry.  The gentle giant of an alpha was seething as he rose from his seat and stalked toward their beta interviewer.  It took a lot to anger the curly haired alpha; therefore it didn’t happen very often.  Louis was startled as he took in the glower on the larger alpha’s face. 

 

Before Louis could do anything Harry grabbed the interviewer by the collar of his suit jacket and roughly man-handled him off set and backstage where the audience couldn’t see them, leaving Louis with little choice but to follow and try to quell the shit storm that was brewing. 

 

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Harry asked his tone deadly.  “You had no right to ask those questions.  They had not been approved by our team.” 

 

Louis could honestly say that was slightly scared.  Angry Harry was truly frightening. 

 

“We will never be affiliated with this company again!  Your treatment of our omega is disgraceful!  You should be fucking ashamed of yourself!” Harry roared.  “Paddy!  Get Simon on the phone!  Paul I want to speak with our lawyers immediately!  This interview is over!”

 

Finally Louis found his voice that had disappeared as soon as he laid eyes on the enraged alpha.  “Harry!  Haz! Stop!  Hazza listen to me!” Louis yelled while grabbing the green eyed alpha’s elbow and attempting to pull him off the quivering beta.  “Harry this is not helping anything!”

 

Harry yanked his arm away from Louis and rounded on him with a snarl.  Louis was taken aback by having the hostility directed at him but held his ground.  “H, tearing this fucker apart will not make this go away.  Let Paul and Simon take care of the lawyers.  We won’t ever come back here, and this beta cunt will be fired by the end of the hour.  Right now we have somewhere we need to be; an omega who needs us.”

 

Harry looked torn, his eyes darting from the shaking beta whose coat he still clutched in his fist, to Louis to the direction that Zayn had run then back again.  After a long moment the black shadow that hovered over his being began to lift.  Harry shook his head as he shoved the beta interviewer away from him in disgust.  He turned back to Louis and allowed him to pull him away but after two steps, Harry turned back to the beta and said in a voice as cold as ice, “We are not done here.  Not by a long shot.”

 

Harry and Louis then took off after their fleeing omega.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Zayn!  Z!  Where are you?” Liam cried.  He and Niall had been chasing the emotional omega through the whole building but had lost him somewhere in the twists and turns of the corridors.  Both boys looked around frantically to no avail. 

 

“Where would he go?  Think.  Think!” Niall said desperately, clutching and pulling at his hair in frustration. 

 

“He would go somewhere familiar; somewhere he feels safe,” Liam concluded.

 

“But we are in New York!  There is nowhere here that he is that comfortable with.  Damn we don’t even have the busses in the city!” 

 

“I know Ni!  He has to be somewhere!”  Liam was growing more and more frantic.  It was one thing when Zayn was panicking when they were at home or in the hospital.  That was a controlled environment.  This was different.  There were people everywhere, strangers everywhere.  The memories of the abuse written on the omega’s skin were still far too fresh in the alpha’s memory.  There were dangers here; other alphas, and though he knows that the fans would never intentionally hurt any of them, the sheer number of them was overwhelming. 

 

Suddenly Niall froze.  “Li!  I know where he is!” then he was off with Liam close at his heels.  The Irishman made a bee line for the door marked as ‘stairs’ and yanked the door open. 

 

“Of course,” Liam said.  “Up or down?”

 

Niall contemplated for a moment before he sniffed the air.  Here in the confined stagnant air of the stairwell he could pick up the omega’s scent.  “Down,” he said as he took off leaping down the stairs two at a time. 

 

They are 35 floors up and they run down 22 flights before they find him.  The alphas almost trip over each other when they see where their omega had fallen into a heap on the landing of the 13th floor. 

 

“Oh Z,” said Liam sadly.  He carefully approached the quivering omega.  “Shhh.  Everything is okay.”  Liam slowly reached out and pulled Zayn into his arms.  The omega came willingly enough, burrowing his nose into the alpha’s neck to soak in his scent as he let out heart shattering sobs. 

 

“O-o-only w-we w-w-w-were sup-sup-pos-ed to kn-ow,” Zayn stuttered out shakily.  “I-I-I I did-didn’t want…”

 

“Shh,” Liam hushed, “We know sweetie.  We know.  We will fix it.  We won’t be able to keep everything a secret like you had wanted; but management and Paul… they are doing damage control right now.  It won’t be perfect, but it will be manageable.  You are okay and we are here.  It is not the end of the world.  I know it seems like it but it isn’t.  I promise.”

 

Zayn was still taking large gasps of air, his chest still felt tight, and though Liam’s scent and hold was a comfort, it wasn’t enough to settle his pounding heart.  Just as he was feeling another wave of panic rear up to overwhelm him, he felt Niall at his back.  “It is okay Z, just relax for us okay?”

 

Without another word Zayn felt teeth press into the juncture where his neck met his shoulder.  There was just enough pressure for the teeth to indent and leave indents in the skin, but not enough to break it and draw blood.  It was surprisingly soothing.  It wasn’t like the punishment bite that he received before, nor was it like the calming bite that Louis had bestowed on him.  It was different.  Without even knowing how it was happening, Zayn felt his lungs expand with a fresh gulp of air and the black that had been dancing in front of his eyes since he took off running started to abate.

 

Niall stayed like that until Louis and Harry found them, lightly sucking at biting at the omegas skin, no doubt following their scent.  Or maybe they came to the same conclusion that Niall did.  The only thing familiar in this unfamiliar territory was the stairs.  After all, they did start on the stairs back on X-Factor, of course Zayn would run to someplace that reminded him of the boys before everything happened, before they all presented and his life turned upside down. 

 

Louis and Harry don’t say anything; they just pile onto the pack that is curled up around each other on the tile landing.  There is nothing more to say in that moment.  All they need is each other, the calming presence of their mingling scents, limbs, and heartbeats soothing the frayed nerves of each of them. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It didn’t take long for the boys to decide that it was time to go back and face the consequences of the interviewer’s actions.  Harry had opted to carry Zayn, who was drained from the panic attack and running down so many flights of stairs, out of the stairwell and to the lifts.  The omega also had a couple of bruises on his kneed and arms from falling on the landing where they had found him.  Harry figured, and the rest agreed that it was probably safer with the omega in his arms as it would deter him from ripping out the throat of the beta should they cross paths.  The whole ride in the lift back up to the studio, the alpha and omega had their noses buried in the other’s neck just drinking each other in to keep them calm.  Niall, who had always been fearful of close spaces, clutched both Louis’ and Liam’s hands in his until the doors opened and they stepped out. 

 

Paul found them almost immediately and pulled them off to the side.  “That prick was fired and escorted out about five minutes ago.  He refused to name his source, he is a reporter he has a legal obligation to not divulge that type of information,” Paul sighed.  “Before you say anything, the lawyers are already working on it.  Everyone who knew about the pregnancy signed a NDA.  They will take it up with his lawyers to see what can be done.  For now it is out of our hands.”

 

The boys weren’t happy about it, but knew that there was nothing that they could do at this point, so they each nodded their understanding. 

 

Paul continues, “The network is beside themselves at the beta’s actions.  They will literally do anything to make this up to you, they have assured me that they had no idea that he was going to ask those questions or that he even had any of that information.  They insist that they had no idea.  But it is out there now.  The interview was live, and there was a live audience that witnessed the whole thing.  The producers cut the feed as soon as they realized that something was amiss… but it was too late.  You have to make some sort of statement, Simon agrees.  It won’t be scripted, we don’t have time for that, the longer we wait the bigger the shit storm is going to be.  The network is bringing in another interviewer as we speak to finish the interview.  You all are still prepared to preform, correct?”

 

Knowing that they had little choice in the matter, the alphas agreed.  Harry felt Zayn stiffen in his arms and rubbed his large hands over the omega’s back in soothing circles and murmured softly in his ear to ease him. 

 

“Okay, I’ll leave you to figure out what you want to say,” and with that Paul was off. 

 

“I can’t.  Please, I don’t want to talk about it.  Say whatever you have to, but please don’t make me do it,” Zayn whispered miserably.  “I just can’t.  It is so embarrassing.”

 

“Okay darling,” Louis assured while taking his hand and kissing the knuckles tenderly.  “I will take care of it.  But this is nothing to be embarrassed about, okay?  None of this is your fault.  We will talk about that later, but for right now you don’t have to say anything.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

**_Omega boyband member Zayn Malik of One Direction confirms pregnancy, miscarriage._ **

 

_Today the biggest boyband in the world made their comeback on Good Morning America with an interview and performance of a new song from their forthcoming album that hits the stores next week.  However the interview took a dramatic turn when interviewer Matt Lauer began asking invasive questions about the recently outed omega of the band.  If you will remember, and really how can you forget, it was revealed just months ago that Malik, who had claimed to be a beta for the majority of the band’s career, was actually an omega who was being abused by unfit alphas.  Malik had presented at his home in Bradford as an omega right after One Direction’s stint on the popular reality show The X-Factor ended in late 2010.  Malik’s parents, both betas, were outraged and forced him to take suppressants.  They even went so far as to bring in un-fit alphas to ‘service’ him for monetary gain whenever he came home during their breaks._

_This all came to an end when his bandmates, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson, along with their tour manager Paul Higgins followed him to Bradford when he returned there unexpectedly when they were in rehearsals for their canceled world tour that was to happen this past summer.  What they found was Malik’s parents dead and their beta bandmate being assaulted by two alphas, who it was concluded later were responsible for the deaths of Yaser and Trisha Malik.  It was then that they also discovered that their beta bandmate was actually an omega._

_Malik was hospitalized for over a week before being released into the care of his bandmates who have barley let him out of their sight since.  It is rumored that there may be a bond forming there in the near future, but that is still only rumor as all of the boys are tight lipped about that, saying that it is a private matter and that they will not discuss it at this time._

_All of that was previously released to the press while the band took an impromptu hiatus to look after Malik who was healing from his injuries.  What Lauer brought up was the previously unheard rumor of a pregnancy and abortion.  Lauer even went so far as to ask if one of the bandmates was the father.  Malik was visibly upset at the questioning and fled the set along with Payne and Horan, leaving Lauer to the mercy of Styles and Tomlinson.  Lauer was soon after relieved of his duties to the network.  Hopefully as he finds himself with more spare time on his hands he takes a course in omega relations, he seems to need it._

_When the band came back on stage a short time later, with a new interviewer, Tomlinson made the following statement:_

_“A pregnancy was the result of one of the countless instances of rape that Zayn endured.  As a pack we found out months ago.  Zayn had the option to terminate the pregnancy due to the nature of the conception, but he refused.  His body miscarried the fetus when it was about five months developed.  As you can imagine this is a difficult thing for any omega to process, much less an omega who has been through the unimaginable horrors that Zayn has.  We had wanted to keep this information to ourselves to keep Zayn from any more undo trauma.  We ask that you please respect his wishes and ours and let this topic lie.  In short, yes there was a pregnancy, it was the result of rape, and there was no abortion.  Thank you.”_

_The band then continued with the interview as scheduled, and preformed their new single, which is sure to be a hit, Fireproof._

_We would like to take this moment to express our condolences for everything that Malik has been though and we are glad to see that he is taking steps, with his bandmates, to heal himself._

_Of course, every cloud has a silver lining.  It was also reported today that there have been several arrests made of reportedly unfit alphas that are tied to the Malik case.  We will let you know as more information develops on that front._

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took longer than expected. I wanted to drown my sorrows in writing... but instead my sorrows only deepened. A week ago I lost my beloved Grandmother to several sever health issues. We buried her next to my brother the day after my birthday. I was far more emotional than I thought I would be. Losing her, seeing my brother's final resting place for the first time in about 12 years, it was hard. My grandma was the glue that held our family together. I realized that it would be the last time that my whole family were ever together again in one place. Only she could draw that from us. I think that it was the first time that all of my cousins were in the same room at the same time in decades, maybe even for the first time in my lifetime. 
> 
> It made me think... my grandma would have loved to have everyone together again. I wish that she could have seen it. It is stupid to me, everyone will gather, some from thousands of miles away, to celebrate her life after she passed, but they wouldn't do it when she was sick. They came when it was too late for her to see. Why is it that death brings people together, but life doesn't? It seems like an awful fucking waste to me. 
> 
> Anyway... I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. I still have big plans... I have a couple of scenes from a few chapters out that I just cant get out of my head and I cant wait to actually write! This chapter seems like such a monster to me, I didn't want to write it because I wanted to get to what I am seeing in my head! lol! So I left out some of what I originally planned... but don't worry... we will get there! 
> 
> Let me know what you think! I know I am crap at responding to comments... but I read and appreciate them all so please keep them coming! 
> 
> As always, all the love!


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope the new year is finding you all happy and healthy. I wanted to get this up in time for the new year but that didn't happen... oh well! 
> 
> So my New Year's Resolution this year is to write at least 1000 words a day, at least 5 days a week... I have outlined the rest of this story and if I keep my resolution then I should have this story finished in a few months. I have never kept a resolution before... but here is hoping!

The boys were truly impressed by how quickly Zayn bounced back after having yet another one of his secrets outed to the world without his consent.  The omega was showing his resilience once again.  None of the alphas believed that they could have gone through half of what Zayn did and still be as strong as he was, and they told him as much over and over again throughout the day.  They were so proud of their omega. 

 

For the rest of that day Zayn had been a bit closed off and quiet, which had been normal for him when he was pretending to be a beta, but he was also clinging to the alphas whenever he could.  The alphas knew that they just had to be there for him and were sure to have reassurances and praise ready at all times along with comforting hands and hugs. 

 

The alphas put the omega to bed that night in their hotel room and curled around him, grounding him to the ‘there and now’ so that his mind wouldn’t drift back to the past and things that could not be changed. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

When Liam and Harry, really the only two early risers in the group, woke the next morning, it was to the beautiful view of the omega curled up to Louis’ chest with his nose in the crook of the alphas’ throat to scent him.  Both were still sleeping peacefully with Niall acting as big spoon to Zayn’s little spoon.  Wordlessly the two alphas got out of bed and tucked in the three sleeping bodies so they would not get chilled.  They went to the kitchen and Harry started tea while Liam called room service and arranged to have a bit of every breakfast food the hotel offered brought up.   

 

A short time later, Louis emerged from the bedroom, drawn out by the smell of tea. 

 

“They both still asleep?” Liam asked while handing Louis a fresh cup of tea made just how the oldest alpha prefers it.  Liam didn’t expect an answer right away so he was unsurprised when Louis refused to answer until after half of his first cup of tea was consumed.  Years of dealing with a sleep rumpled Louis had taught them all a thing or two. 

 

“Niall is awake but Z is still asleep. We rolled him over to cuddle into Ni and he didn’t even stir,” Louis said shaking his head.  “That boy can sleep like the dead.  Nialler said that he would wake him up when the food got here but for now he just wanted to lay in bed with him.”

 

“Well I just ordered it so it will be a while,” Liam said just as there was a knock on the door.  He frowned as Harry went to answer the door. 

 

“Oh hi Paul, what’s up?” Harry greeted opening the door for the alpha to enter the room. 

 

“Morning boys, where are Zayn and Niall?”

 

“Ni is awake but Z is still sleeping.  They are both still in bed,” Louis repeated easily. 

 

“Have you checked your phones since you got up?” Paul asked.

 

“No,” Liam said throwing a glance to where he phone lay on the table where he threw it the night before.  “Should we?”

 

“There was an article posted last night about the interview.  It didn’t make anyone look bad or anything but at the bottom it mentioned that arrests had been made,” Paul said.  When the three alphas only looked at him questioningly, not making the connection he continued, “Unfit alphas have been arrested in connection to Zayn’s case. 

 

It took several seconds for the words to register and when they did Paul found himself with a face full of increasingly agitated alphas. 

 

“What do you mean ‘arrests have been made’?”

 

“When did this happen?”

 

“Why were we not told sooner?”

 

“How does some rag know about this before we do?”

 

“How many arrests were there?”

 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!  Slow down lads!” Paul coaxed holding up his hands to try and stall the onslaught of their questioning.  “I have no idea how the rag got the information and neither do the police, I called them as soon as I saw and spoke with Detective Inspector Olson.  He said that they have made seven arrests.  One of the alphas arrested was responsible for Zayn’s pregnancy.  They were able to match DNA.  They were also able to match the DNA of six others from the damaged DNA found in the shed.  They are still working on the rest of the DNA samples that they collected.”

 

“Why weren’t we notified of this earlier?”  Louis asked.

 

“The Detective Inspector didn’t want any of you to go after the alphas yourself.  He was going to call you this morning; they were waiting till later to call due to the time zone difference.  I got ahold of him before he could reach you,” Paul answered. 

 

“They are sure that these are the alphas?” Harry asked nervously.

 

“Yeah lad, they are sure.  But there is a problem,” Paul continued.

 

“What kind of problem?” Liam questioned.

 

The Detective Inspector has a team that have been watching social media for any threats made regarding Zayn or you lads, even me since I was with you when we found him.  Ever since the story was made public there have been some threats, but now that arrests have been made, they have increased dramatically.  There is no way to know how many of those threats could be serious and what is just talk.  Detective Inspector Olson has suggested, and I concur, that we need to increase your security detail.”

 

“You really think that Zayn could be in danger?  That we could be in danger?” Louis asked. 

 

“It is better to be safe than sorry in this case,” Paul said.  “I have already spoken with management and they are working on getting applicants.  No one is going to be added to our team without my okay.  There will be interviews next week while we are in LA.  I would like if you lads would join me in choosing the new additions.  Zayn too.  These are people who will be living with us and the last thing I want is for you or Zayn to be uncomfortable with them.    

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The rest of the week goes well.  There are no more issues with any interviewers, and the more interviews that occur without incident, the more comfortable Zayn becomes.  It is gradual; really no one but someone who has been with him for years and know him like the back of their hands, like the boys, would be able to discern the slight differences that Zayn is showing.  Zayn is slightly more open and confident.  He says a little more without prompts from anyone and doesn’t have to rely on the other boys for confidence as much, even though they still shower him in attention. 

 

Niall had heard Paul’s conversation with the boys while Zayn slept; alpha hearing had its benefits.  The alphas had decided together to tell Zayn about the arrests, but not about the increased threats.  They didn’t see a reason to frighten the omega any further than what he already had been.  They did have to tell him that their security force would be increasing, though they played it off as them being overprotective alphas looking out for their omega, nothing more. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Before they knew it the week was up and they were in LA.  The band was staying in one hotel that was located on the beach and the interviews were scheduled at a separate hotel across town for safety reasons.  Applicants were flown in from all around the world so that they knew that they would get the best of the best, anything for their omega. 

 

There were twenty applicants, nineteen men and one woman.  They were a mix of alphas and betas.  Management had decided to hire five of the applicants.  The first step was the formal interview.  All five bandmates were there along with Paul.  Alberto, Preston, Paddy, Dale and Basil were there as well; not participating in the interview but there to observe.  Paul, Liam and Louis were the ones doing the actual questioning;

 

Zayn was slightly nervous with meeting so many new alphas, not because he wasn’t use to meeting new people, but because he was the reason for the interviews.  He was an omega and the world knew it now and the whole situation made him uncomfortable.  So Harry and Niall curled up on either side of him in a couch off to the side of the room to observe as well.

 

The first two interviews went well, nothing miraculous, but nothing glaringly horrible either.  That all changed when the third interviewee entered the room.  It was an Australian Alpha by the name Craig.  Craig entered the room and shook the hands of Paul, Louis and Liam, greeting them each in turn.  During those few seconds, Zayn could not take his eyes off the alpha. 

 

Niall felt Zayn tense up first, “What’s wrong, love?”

 

Harry quickly turned to assess the omega and followed his line of sight straight to the alpha interviewee.  Harry’s lips pulled back in a menacing snarl as he met the eyes of the Aussie.  Craig immediately stepped back as the attention of everyone in the room was drawn to himself and the omega. 

 

Craig held up his hands in surrender and slowly backed up towards the door.  “I don’t know what I did, but he obviously is uncomfortable with me here, I don’t want to cause him any anxiety.  I think this interview is over.”  The Aussie swiftly exited the door, hastily followed by Preston and Basil. 

 

“Zayn, what was it?” Louis implored making his way to Zayn and dropping to his knees in front of him and placing his small hands on the omega’s thin thighs, rubbing them comfortingly. 

 

It took a few moments for Zayn to get his breath back and to find his voice.  “I-I-I don’t kn-know…”

 

“Was he one of the alphas that hurt you?” Harry asked balling his fists.  If he was, Harry was determined that the police would never find him. 

 

“No-no, I don’t think so-o.  I don’t know what it was… He just-there-er was j-just some-thing about him I-I guess,” Zayn stuttered out, his face pale and scared.  “I-I don’t know…”

 

Niall reached out and grabbed the omega around the middle and pulled him into his lap, guiding his head to the crook of the alpha’s neck so the omega could scent him.  “Shhh, it’s okay, just take some deep breaths okay?  We are all here for you, to keep you safe.  We won’t let anyone hurt you.”

 

By the time that Basil and Preston came back into the room, the boys had gotten Zayn calmed down and his coloring had returned to normal. 

 

“I called Detective Inspector Olson to check up on the alpha.  A quick check confirmed what he claimed; he has never travelled to the UK,” Preston stated.  “He was very cooperative and apologized for the incident.  We have all his information and Detective Inspector Olson said that he would contact the Aussie authorities to do a more thorough background check on him.”

 

“Are you feeling better Z?” Liam asked gently.  “Are you ready to continue the interviews?”  Zayn took a deep breath and nodded that he was ready. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

By the time that they were ready for the second part of the interview they had narrowed down the applicant pool by half. 

 

The woman, an average sized British red-head beta by the name Chloe had surprisingly passed the verbal interview with flying colors, despite Paul having his reservations.  If she made it through, she would be the only woman on their security team.  Paul wasn’t sexist, not by any means, it was just that men tended to be bigger and stronger and more likely to deter any possible assailants than a woman would be.  Chloe was easily the smallest of the applicants and didn’t appear to be much of a physical threat.  It would have been different if she was an alpha, but she was a beta.  The only reason that she made it to the second round of interviews was because Zayn seemed taken with her. 

 

Chloe was the only one that Zayn smiled at and greeted when she walked into the room.  She seemed to exude something that put the omega at ease.  Paul could concede that even if he didn’t think that she would be able to prevent an incident, should one occur, she would be good to have around to keep Zayn calm if there was something that was keeping his alpha bandmates from him.  The likelihood of that happening was slim to nil, but years of working in security had taught him to be prepared for anything. 

 

So Chloe made it to the second round of the interviews which consisted of a physical test.  Each of the remaining applicants was to spar with one of the existing security team, Alberto, Preston, Paddy, Basil or Dale.  Each of the security team chose two names at random to decide who would spar who, just to test their skills and abilities.  Alberto got Chloe and Liam almost made him switch with Basil.  He had seen how comfortable that Chloe made Zayn and wanted her to pass, but he didn’t dare mess with the system.  Zayn had all of them to keep him calm and comfortable; the security team’s job was to keep him safe; this sparing test would better determine who to hire to make sure that they can do that job. 

 

Chloe was the last of the applicants to spar.  The sparing match took them all by surprise with how quickly it was over.  Within ninety seconds the beta female had the lager alpha male on his back.  Chloe was quick, and one swift kick behind his knee had the alpha falling to the ground, unable to regain his footing. 

 

Needless to say, Paul was impressed.  By the end of the day, Chloe, and four other applicants: betas Calum and Michael and alphas Luke and Ashton were the new members of the security team. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was late afternoon by the time the boys got back to their beachfront hotel.  They were tired and hungry, but there was something that they needed to talk to their omega about.  It was Harry’s idea to get a picnic dinner to eat on the private beach that they had access to from the hotel.  It wasn’t anything special, just cut up fruit, salad, and some grilled chicken with biscuits.  Harry had even found a large blanket that would accommodate all of them to lay on the sand. 

 

By the time the boys got everything set up on the beach the sun was just starting to set.  They contented themselves to watching the changing colors and feeding each other small bites of their meal. 

 

Louis grumbled a bit about how healthy the meal was, he was craving some sugar, or salt, or grease… pretty much anything that was bad for him.  It was only half-hearted though, he knew that Zayn needed the nutrients that the healthy food provided, and he just wanted to annoy Harry a bit. 

 

Finally all the food had been consumed and the boys were curled up together watching as the final rays of sunshine disappeared over the horizon and the beautiful pinks and reds faded to indigo and black, a few stars showing out over the water. 

 

Finally it was time to breach the subject that they had brought up to the omega before, but had not gotten the response that they had been hoping for.  They didn’t want to push Zayn or put any unnecessary pressure on him, but they wanted him to know that they were there for him in every way.  But before they could broach the subject the omega beat them to it.

 

“I know what you lads want to talk about.  You want to bond with me.”

 

“Yeah Z, we do.  We love you and we want you to always be safe.  We want you to know that we are here for you and that we love you,” Niall says.

 

“If you are afraid of being intimate with us, you don’t need to be,” Louis said with total sincerity.  “We would never do anything to hurt you.  We would make sure that everything was safe and consensual and that you feel nothing but comfortable.”

 

“I know that Lou,” Zayn sighed.  “I love and trust you, all of you.”

 

“What’s the problem then, love?” Liam asked gently slowly rubbing his hand up and down the omega’s spine. 

 

“It’s just,” Zayn starts, “It hasn’t been that long since I lost the baby.  I’m still reeling from that you know?”

 

“You have been doing so much better though,” Harry whispered. 

 

“Yeah, I have.  The voices are gone and that is great… but that is not the only reason.”

 

“Then what is it, love?” Niall asks.

 

“I haven’t had a heat yet.  Not since you lads… found out… about me.  And all the tests that Dr. Gray has done… they all are inconclusive.  She doesn’t even know if I will ever go into heat again.  Without a heat we can’t bond anyway.”

 

“Maybe we can’t do a complete bond, but we could leave our marks.  They wouldn’t be permanent, but we can keep them fresh.  You would be safer, and I think that it could help you heal… always having the physical reminder that we are here for you,” Liam tried.  

 

“But it isn’t just about me!” Zayn cried.  He was getting frustrated with this conversation.  “If I can’t ever have a heat again, then I can’t get pregnant again!  I am practically a beta boy!  Alphas need omegas!  You all need an omega!”

 

“Sweetie, you are an omega.  Whether your body can conceive or go into heat doesn’t matter, you are and always will be an omega,” Harry soothed.  He was alarmed by how distraught the omega was getting with the conversation and wanted nothing more than to ease his anxiousness. 

 

“I am an omega in name but not in ability!”

 

“Zayn, that doesn’t matter to us,” Louis started but Zayn interrupted him.

 

“It matters to me!”

 

“Okay, Zayn!  We understand, take a deep breath okay?” Niall soothed.  “You are getting all worked up and it is not good for you.”  Niall took Zayn’s face in his hands and rubbed his thumbs over the stubble on his cheeks until the frantic look had drained from the omega’s eyes. 

 

“Okay Zayn, let’s make a deal, yeah?” Liam countered.  “When you start showing signs of your heat… and you will… we will talk about this again.  You should have a few hours from the time that you start showing symptoms till the time that it actually hits now that the suppressants are out of your system.  You can make your decision of if you want to bond with us then.  Until that happens we will drop the issue.  How does that sound?  Fair?”

 

Zayn took a deep shuddering breath, mulling over the alphas words before he nodded his head.  It was fair.  It wasn’t that he didn’t want to bond with his band mates.  He did, more than anything.  But he had to be fair to them too.  If he was never able to be a normal omega again, he didn’t want to have them tied to him.  He didn’t want them to resent him.  He wanted them to have the chance at a normal relationship.  They deserved it, and he loved them enough to let them go if he had too. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On another note... I read Endless Road by sakabelle and it fucked me up. I literally cried all day. So if you want to torture yourself like I apparently did... go read it. Read the warnings... I didn't which is why I was so distraught. 
> 
> This chapter was really hard for me to write... mostly because I think that this one and the next couple after it are kind of boring. I wish I could just skip over them... but alas... they are important to the plot. So anyway... stick with it if you can, it will pick up again!!
> 
> Anyway hope you liked it... let me know what you think!!


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I am horrible at new years resolutions... but after a much longer wait then I had intended this chapter is done. So yay me! 
> 
> I got a few comments on the Aussie alpha from the last chapter. He will not play any more of a part in the story. My goal of putting him in the story was just to show how a good alpha would react if he was the one causing an omega stress. He noticed the change in Zayn and immediately backed off. Who knows what set Zayn off... it could have been any number of things; the way that he walked, the smell of his cologne, there could have been anything that reminded Zayn of one of his attackers. Again the point is just that he did what he had to do to make Zayn feel better... and that was to leave, and he never questioned it, he just accepted it. It is that kind of treatment that Zayn was denied for so long and that he is finally getting. So if you had any conspiracy theories about him... sorry to burst your bubble! lol!
> 
> Also, I haven't done it as of this chapter, but I plan on going back and editing the timeline from when Zayn loses the baby to when they go on tour... The story started out with the boys coming back to London to ready for the tour in mid-January and the timeline that I have now would put them starting tour in the Americas in September/October-ish... and that is silly. So for now until I edit, they do promo for album release in November (as per usual) and then they prepare for the tour to start in late February. So basically I am adding a few months to the timeline. Sorry for any confusion that this causes. Eventually I will probably go back and add in birthday celebrations and holidays (maybe I'm undecided on that at this point). I would do it now, but it seems like it will take more brain power than I am willing to exert at this point... lol!
> 
> On that note... ENJOY!

It was Niall’s idea; of course it was Niall’s idea.  He knew that the other alphas would agree with him, so he didn’t even approach him before he called Simon to make it happen. 

 

“Niall, I understand, but you all need to rehearse.  You have been out of the game for months.  _Zayn_ needs to rehearse.  You can’t afford to take even a few days away from that,” Simon reasoned. 

 

“Simon, I understand that, really I do.  I know that Zayn needs every moment of rehearsal available to him, I get it.  But I also know that we now have five new faces in our security team, five new faces that we don’t know.  Five more faces that we do not have a rapport with,” Niall stated patiently.  “We need him to get to know these new individuals; we need him to feel safe with them.  We all need to know them and feel safe with them.  Our current team needs to be able to work with them flawlessly.”

 

“Niall you need to be prepared for the tour,” Simon started.

 

“And we will be.  It will only be for a few days and it will help us all over the long run.” 

 

Niall paused when he heard Simon sigh.  “You’re not taking no for an answer are you?”

 

“I was more calling you to tell you that this is happening; not to ask for permission.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Two days later the five bandmates along with all ten of their security team and Paul find themselves traipsing through a remote state park in America with sleeping bags and tents slung over their shoulders.  They are spending six days camping and getting to know each other and how they are going to work together.  Just like Niall had predicted, the other alphas agreed right away and the security team did not take much convincing. 

 

It didn’t take much time to get their campsite set up; or at least it wouldn’t have had Liam been able to stop Louis from trying to help.  “Forget what you looked in scouts Payno, we’re doing this the Tommo way,” were famous last words that ended in falling logs instead of a teepee for their fire. 

 

Nevertheless by early evening all seven tents were up, a fire was started and hotdogs were roasting on sticks.  The bandmates were all in one large tent, it was cramped but that was okay, they were only going to sleep in the tent anyway, they only needed enough space for their sleeping bags.  Paul and Chloe both have their own small tents.  The remaining tents were shared between Alberto, Paddy, Preston, Dale and Basil along with the new male security team of Calum, Mike, Luke and Ashton. 

 

The first night is spent eating and getting to know each other and stuffing their faces with s’mores and toasted marshmallows. 

 

The next morning after breakfast Louis found a stick and started poking Liam with it.  As expected it didn’t take long for Liam to grow tired of Louis’ shenanigans and retaliated.  Liam grabbed the stick and twisted it out of Louis’ hand, then grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind the smaller alpha’s back, immobilizing him.  Liam then took his revenge and ran a hand up under Louis’ shirt and tickled his ribs.  Louis shrieked and tried to wrestle away from Liam with little affect.  After a few minutes both alphas were rolling on the ground with pine needles in their hair trying to tickle each other into submission.  The rest of the group had gathered around and were cheering them on taking sides and bets.  Eventually Louis lost but refused to admit defeat and Liam took pity and called it a stalemate. 

 

After everyone had calmed down from watching the tickle match Basil thought that they should take some time to spar with each other.  Luke, Mike and Ashton were not able to take down Paddy, Basil and Preston in their sparing match during interview though they did put up a good fight and showed a lot of promise and talent. 

 

Everyone broke off into pairs to spar for a bit, Harry insisted on sparing with Zayn, refusing to let anyone else, which was silly because there was no one there that would ever dream of hurting the omega.  But Harry was overprotective and adamant.  What really happened with that pair was less sparing and more of Zayn attacking and Harry doing only the bare minimum to block his attacks; not very effective for sparing.

 

Chloe eventually took a break and watching the other pairs, her eyes mostly on Zayn, Louis and Niall.  In time everyone grew pretty sweaty and tired and decided to go down to the lake that was located at the edge of the park to cool down.  Everyone rushed into the water except Zayn who sat down at the water’s edge but stayed vigilant enough that the licking waves didn’t touch him.  It wasn’t until everyone was splashing around having a good time that Louis noticed that Zayn was missing.  The smaller alpha whipped his head around looking for the missing omega, for a terrifying moment thinking that he had slipped underwater before his eyes landed on him sitting in the sand.  Louis quite literally face palmed when he realized what they had all overlooked. 

 

Zayn can’t swim. 

 

Quickly catching on to Louis’ distress Liam wades over to him inquiring, “What’s wrong, Lou?”  Without voicing anything, Louis points to the omega sitting on the shore.  Following his bandmates finger Liam looks to Zayn who seems content enough where he is at.  “Shit.  I got him.” 

 

Liam makes his way back to shore and plops down next to the shirtless omega.  “I’m sorry, love.  I can’t believe that we forgot.”

 

“It’s okay, Li really.  I am fine watching from here, Paul and Preston are hilarious splashing around like little kids,” Zayn turns to the puppy-eyed alpha next to him.  “Really, it is okay.”

 

“No, it’s not okay.  And you are deflecting.  Come on Z, let’s go swimming.” 

 

“Li, you know I can’t swim,” Zayn vehemently shook his head. 

 

“Zayn, sweetie, everyone here is here because we love you and will protect you.  You need to be able to trust all of us, not just the new security.”

 

“I do trust you Liam,” Zayn starts but is interrupted by Liam.

 

“You shouldn’t.”  Zayn’s mouth gapes open in shock until Liam continues.  “We let you down.  Our ignorance not only let you be hurt in the first place, but it permitted that misbehavior to continue for years.  I am glad that you are able to trust us again, so so glad.  But we need to make this up to you somehow.  We need to prove to you and ourselves that we deserve your trust.”

 

“And how do you think me going into the water will help that?”

 

“Tiny steps, Z, tiny steps,” Liam was careful not to say ‘baby steps’, Zayn had asked them not to use that term, had begged more like, and Liam wasn’t about to ignore that request now. 

 

It was with a great amount of reluctance that Zayn finally agreed to accompany Liam back out into the water.  Zayn tried to be brave, but the second that the water lapped at his belly button he reached out and clutched onto Liam’s hand with a death grip.  Liam of course allowed it and sent him a beaming smile even if he had to grit his teeth a bit because the omega was cutting off the circulation to his fingers. 

 

The omega’s presence in the water was met by cheers by the camps other occupants.  Louis came barreling towards the pair at a speed that should not be allowable in the water, causing Zayn quickly duck behind Liam to avoid being knocked over.  “Zayn!  Come play you’re in the water!  Come play chicken with us!”  Sure enough Zayn looked over and Niall was perched on Harry’s shoulders waiting for opponents to water wrestle with.  All of the security detail, including the newbies had learned the hard way that Harry and Niall didn’t play fair with chicken and refused to play anymore.  Louis on the other hand would never back down from a challenge, especially if there was a chance to play dirty.  Louis could cheat with the best of them. 

 

Before Zayn could even get out the word ‘no’ Chloe was by their side answering for him.  “How about you and Liam go play against Niall and Harry?  Take them down for me; I wanted to keep my hair dry and they dunked me completely under.  My hair is going to be a frizzy mess for the rest of this trip!  I will stay with Zayn; I swear I won’t let him out of reach.  Besides it will give us a chance to get to know each other better.” 

 

Zayn was hesitant to let Liam out of his reach but knew what Chloe said was true.  The whole point in this trip was to get comfortable with everyone so that they could all work together seamlessly when the tour started.  Besides that, if there was too much stalling, Louis was bound to get bored and force his way onto either his or Liam’s back and that was not something that he was willing to risk. 

 

So with that in mind the omega resigned himself to peeling his fingers away from the alpha’s hand.  “Are you okay with this sweetheart?” Liam asked quietly. 

 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Zayn said gently pushing Liam’s shoulder toward Louis. 

 

Louis whooped and immediately clambered onto Liam’s back and directed him toward their fellow alpha bandmates by pulling at his hair and yelling “Wayward ho!”  All Liam could do was throw one last glance at Zayn as he walked the two of them into deeper water. 

 

Zayn was okay for about thirty seconds before the water splashing at his navel got to him again and he reached for the closest thing to him to anchor him, which was Chloe’s hand. 

 

“So you can’t swim huh?” the small bodyguard asked.  Zayn only shrugged and ducked his head but continued to grip her hand.  “It is nothing to be ashamed of.  I didn’t learn how to swim until I was sixteen.  A girl at my school was having a pool party.  She was the most popular omega in the school and she invited me to her party.  I was so happy that I had gotten invited but I couldn’t swim.  The last thing that I wanted was to go there and make a fool of myself; if that happened I would never be invited to a party again.  So my older brothers took me to the community pool.  They worked as lifeguards there and snuck me in afterhours so that I could learn without getting embarrassed by all these little kids that could swim.  They were really great teachers; I picked it up in no time.  I could teach you if you want?”

 

 At Chloe’s offer Zayn jerked his head up to look at her.  “I-I don’t know…”

 

“It’s okay,” she backtracks quickly.  “You don’t have to.  I just want you to enjoy yourself and standing here being terrified is not enjoying yourself.”  After a couple of moments of silence between the two, Chloe continues, “I could show you how to float?  I’ll hold you up and everything.  I won’t let the water get on your face or over your head at all.” 

 

Zayn thought about it, he had always wanted to learn how to swim when he was younger but didn’t have anyone to teach him.  After he presented he was too afraid to go in the water for fear of someone discovering that he was an omega or seeing the bruises and scars on his body.  But now the only thing holding him back was fear.  After everything else that he had overcome this year, he was sure that he could do this.  Or at least try. 

 

“You promise that you won’t let me go under?” Zayn asked, with only a slight tremor in his voice. 

 

“I promise.”

 

“Okay, but only floating… I’m not ready for anything else.”

 

“Fair enough.”  Chloe positioned herself facing the omega’s side, removed her hand from his and held her hands over his back and chest but didn’t touch his body.  “Is it okay if I touch you?”

 

Zayn really appreciated that she had asked first before reaching out and touching him.  Him touching other people was one thing, but other people, other than the boys, touching him was completely different.  Zayn took a deep breath before answering, “Yeah.”

 

Chloe placed her hands on his skin and eased him back into the water.  She then removed the hand from his chest and put her hand under the water and tucked it behind his legs and gently lifted his feet from the sandy bottom of the lake. 

 

Just like that the omega was floating.  As soon as he realized it, Zayn’s breathing picked up and he started sinking a little, but just like she promised Chloe kept his head above the water.  “Don’t panic.  Just take slow, deep, and even breaths.  I won’t let you sink.” 

 

With Chloe’s gentle reassurances Zayn calmed and finally relaxed in the open water for the first time in his life.  Unbeknownst to him, all of the other members of their party had stopped what they were doing and were watching.  The alpha bandmates were each beaming at Chloe and Zayn.  It looked like they were all going to get along fabulously. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The next morning over breakfast is when she brought it up. 

 

“Who taught you boys how to spar?”

 

“Our trainer Mark, he is a legend.  Though Liam had taken boxing lessons before X-Factor,” Niall answered. 

 

Chloe nodded her head and pursed her lips.  “Mark.  Is he a big guy?”

 

“Not particularly tall, but he has some muscle weight on him.  He is a tough guy.”

 

Chloe nodded again.  “Why do you ask?” Harry inquired.

 

The beta girl paused for a moment before answering.  “I was watching you five spar yesterday.  I think that you need some more work in self-defense,” she answered bluntly.   

 

The alpha in Liam immediately bristled at the implication.  “We have all taken self-defense from Mark.  He taught us well.  We can all handle ourselves in a fight.”

 

“I’m not saying that you can’t.  Not at all, but it looks and sounds like you were taught to defend yourselves by someone who is well built, and that is okay for you Liam, and Harry too, but for Zayn as well as Louis and Niall it is not as effective.”

 

“What do you mean?” Harry questioned. 

 

“I mean that Zayn, Niall and Louis are smaller,”

 

“Hey now!” Louis sasses.

 

Chloe ignores him and continues, “and they just don’t have the body mass to fight like a brute.  Think about it; you two,” she says pointing to Harry and Liam, “are the tallest and have the most upper body strength.  You can overtake an attacker easily because you have been taught how to use those assets to your advantage.  The other three are smaller but sill spar like they are trying to use height and muscle mass that they just do not have to overcome their opponent.”

 

“So what exactly are you saying?” Niall queried.

 

“I’m saying that if I fought like you do, I wouldn’t have been able to take down Alberto and I wouldn’t be here.  Your advantages in being smaller is that you are also quicker, more agile, Zayn especially because he is an omega.  He especially can outmaneuver a beta or alpha attacker if he is not backed into a corner.  You three especially need to be taught how to use those natural abilities.”

 

“Is that something that you can teach us?” Zayn whispered just loudly enough to be heard.  Chloe’s words had triggered something in him.  He should have been able to fight off his alpha attackers had he been out in the open and not locked in the shed.  What Chloe was saying made sense, but never at any point in any of the attacks did he ever feel like him having the upper hand was ever conceivable.  Maybe with a different approach to training he could change that. 

 

“Yeah, I can.”

 

  ~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The rest of the camping trip was spent with Chloe working closely with Zayn, Niall and Louis showing them how to fight utilizing their strengths and minimizing their weaknesses.  By the time that the group left the campsite to get back for rehearsals everyone had developed close relationships.  Calum, Michael, Luke and Ashton all discovered that they liked to play instruments and sing as well and were determined to get together for a few jam sessions in the future.  Chloe and Zayn had also become very close, almost close enough for his alpha bandmates to get jealous, but they would never admit that.  They were glad that the omega was opening up to someone else, it was good for him. 

 

Due to this newfound closeness and her willingness to help the boys better defend themselves Chloe is named the second primary security detail behind Preston.   

 

  ~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It is finally the night, the first night of the tour.  All the boys are buzzin’, but none more than Zayn.  He is a strange mix of excited, nervous, happy and anxious.  The rehearsals had gone well, much better than the last rehearsals Zayn had participated in.

 

There is a meet and greet before the show with fans.  This was the first time that Zayn had actually came face to face with fans since before he was in the hospital.  It was both exhilarating and scary; he hoped that the fans would be supportive; the boys had shown him lots of tweets and posts on tumblr from fans that were positive but he also knew that the boys were weeding out the negative posts before he saw them so he couldn’t be sure what the ratio was for positive and negative posts. 

 

The omega needn’t have worried though.  The boys never left his side and Chloe was always just out of the cameras reach but always visible monitoring the crowd.  The fans were lovely.  Of course there were tears, but the fans were respectful and let Zayn approach them instead of the other way around.  The majority of the fans were omegas and could imagine what Zayn had been through and none, absolutely none of them wanted to be the cause of any more hardship for the omega that they idolized. 

 

Finally after so much waiting it was time to go out on stage.  Zayn stood with Harry and Niall on one side of him and Louis and Liam on the other as the pyrotechnics started and the notes of the first song started.  Then the lifts picked them up and they emerged on the stage to the greeting of a screaming crowd. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It was exhilarating.  It was the best show that they had ever had, at least in Zayn’s opinion.  He had never felt so at home on stage.  He was now being seen as the real Zayn, Zayn the omega, and it was a wonderful feeling.  He hit all his high notes perfectly, he adlibbed some cool new notes, everything was perfect.  The other boys spent the night doting on him.  Several times Niall came up to him to ‘beep, beep, boop’ his nipples and belly button which of course he reciprocated. 

 

All of the boys had the best time.  Louis and Liam somehow got ahold of water guns and silly string and proceeded to attempt to annihilate each other.  Harry did his whale impersonation as well as danced like a fool. 

 

Zayn spent the night bouncing around all over the stage so that he could read all the signs that the fans had brought.  The night was a complete success.  By the time the show was over Zayn was on top of the world.  He never wanted the night to end.  They ended with a group hug and raced each other offstage.  As he passed her the omega grabbed Chloe’s hand and dragged her with them as they ran to the bus.  They were all on too much of a performance high to be able to sleep and he wanted her with them while they celebrated on the way to the next show. 

 

The boys on all previous tours had been separated on two busses, Louis and Zayn on Bus 1 and Harry, Niall and Liam on Bus 2.  Since the revelation that Zayn was an omega and that they were going back on tour the boys had the busses renovated to fit them all on Bus 1 so that they wouldn’t have to be separated. 

 

The six of them spent all night praising the show and each other while munching on snack foods and playing video games.  It was a fabulous night; one for the books that is for sure.   

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The tour continues across North and South America.  The shows are great, the fans are supportive.  All the boys are on the top of their game.  They had started off the tour rested and as the tour wore on they got tired but they were so glad to be back that they didn’t care.  The boys were so happy that Zayn was improving so much while on tour.  He was becoming what they had determined to be the real natural Zayn.  He was cheeky and charming, mischievous and playful.  He and Louis reinvented the term ‘partners in crime’ by pulling pranks and causing trouble.  At one of the stadiums they stole a golf buggy and raced around the stadium before Paul and Preston caught them and confiscated the keys.  Chloe was always with them, keeping Zayn safe while he caused trouble with Louis. 

 

Chloe had effortlessly been incorporated with the band.  The boys were completely comfortable with having her with them as she was a beta and didn’t pose a threat to them that an alpha in her position probably would have. 

 

The tour moved on to Europe, the last leg.  Next year the band would be going to Australia and Asia as well as the Middle East and South Africa. 

 

When they arrived in Europe they made a stop in London a couple of days before that leg started so that Zayn could have a check-up with Dr. Gray.  Zayn was at a healthy weight, all bruises had healed and scaring was at a minimum, almost completely invisible now.  But there was one thing that Zayn had been worried about that he needed to ask his doctor about. 

 

“If I start my heat… how bad is it going to be?  I’ve never had a mature heat without the suppressants or other drugs in my system,” Zayn asks nervously.

 

“I’m not going to lie to you; it is going to be bad.  It will be the strongest heat you have ever experienced.  You will need the boys to get you through it; it is not something that you will be able to handle all by yourself.  But should you so choose, you should be able to get through it without them bonding you.  If you want to accept a bond from them that would help make it easier for you, but it won’t be necessary.”

 

“Okay, I was kind of worried about that.”

 

Dr. Gray nodded, “Don’t agree to a bond unless you are sure and ready.  That is not something that you should be forced into just because you are scared or nervous.  You are a strong omega; probably the strongest that I have ever met.  If you are not ready to bond then you most certainly don’t have to.  But I will tell you that those boys love you with all their hearts.  If you choose them, I am also certain that you will never regret it.”

 

“Yeah, I know that,” Zayn said with a happy smile. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare yourselves for the beginnings of drama next chapter!! It is going to be a whirl wind for the next few chapters! I am so excited... you are all going to hate me!! 
> 
> ZeeThorn: Thank you for reminding me about "beeb, beeb, boop" I had thought about that a long time ago and had forgotten it by the time that I could use it! 
> 
> I have got a lot of comments about how you all want Zayn to go into heat and what you want to happen. Rest assured that we will get there... some of what has been mentioned in comments will happen... just maybe not in the way that you expect. From here on out it is going to be one hell of a roller coaster ride! I am excited for the upcoming chapters so hopefully there wont be such a long wait for updates but feel free to prod me with messages. I am horrible at responding back, but I read them all and they really help to encourage me so keep them coming!! 
> 
> Oh yeah... CONGRATULATIONS TO ZAYN ON PILLOWTALK!! IT IS FUCKING AMAZING!! IF YOU HAVEN'T LISTENED TO IT OR VAUGHT IT YET... GET ON THAT!!
> 
> And I still believe in Larry... the baby is so fake... I hope that Louis is free soon and that he takes Simon down!! (But if I'm wrong and the baby is his... congratulations to him, he will make a lovely father) 
> 
> As always, thank you for reading and let me know what you think!! Until next time!!
> 
> All the love! - WrennAddysen


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit! Two chapters in two days! Don't get use to it... I had the weekend off and spent almost all of it writing. But unfortunately I have to go back to work tomorrow... 
> 
> Queue drama!
> 
> Enjoy!

The European leg of the tour absolutely flew by and before they know it the last show of the tour is upon them.  It is in London, there was a show there the previous night and it was amazing.  Tonight however, something is amiss.

 

“Zayn!  Slow down!” Louis yelled his normally playful voice clouded by both worry and agitation.  Louis was racing after Zayn who was speeding away from him backstage on his skateboard with Louis’ board clutched in his hands.  “Stop him!” Louis shouted at Harry when he saw the curly haired alpha ahead of them in the perfect position to intercede and grab Zayn. 

 

Unfortunately Zayn saw Harry as well and quickly swerved to avoid being caught.  The sudden change of course unbalanced the omega and he went tumbling down and both skateboards went flying in opposite directions. 

 

“Zayn!” both alphas shout as they sprint towards the fallen omega, their cries gaining the attention of Liam and Niall who appear as if out of nowhere, followed closely by Chloe who had been in a meeting with all the other security going over the details of the nights events. 

 

“Zayn, are you okay sweetheart?” Niall fussed reaching out to help the omega to his feet. 

 

Zayn slapped away his hand and darted up without any assistance.  “I’m fine,” he grunted.

 

“Z, you can’t just do stuff like that!” Louis bit out.  “You were being reckless; you could have gotten seriously hurt. 

 

“I am a grown man Louis!  I can take care of myself!” Zayn said angrily. 

 

“Yeah, sure you can.  That is why we found you all skin and bones and covered head to toe in bruises and spunk.  Good job taking care of yourself then!” Louis spit.  The words were barely out of his mouth and he regretted them, wished that he could stuff them back in his mouth and swallow them back down.  This happens more than Louis is proud of; he gets mad and sassy word vomit spews out. 

 

Zayn for his part takes a step back and looks like he has just been slapped before his face hardens and he growls out a “Fuck you, Louis,” before storming off. 

 

“Z! Wait, I’m sorry!  I didn’t mean that!”

 

Louis makes a move to follow the omega but is stopped by Chloe.  “Maybe you should just let him be for a bit.  Let him cool down.”

 

Louis stops and turns back to his fellow alphas.  “I didn’t mean to say that.  You know I didn’t,” Louis all but begged his bandmates to understand.  He didn’t even try to hide the tears that were glistening in his eyes as he looked at them.  Louis knew that he fucked up.

 

Harry took pity on him first.  “We know you didn’t, Lou.  He scared you.  It will be okay, he will forgive you.”  With that Harry pulled the smaller alpha into a tight hug and kissed the top of his head. 

 

“That was a shitty thing to say to him though,” Liam pointed out. 

 

“I know.”  Louis hung his head as shame radiated through his body.  He was a bad alpha; he hurt his omega’s feelings. 

 

“What was going on anyway?” Niall asked.

 

“We were just skating around having some fun.  Then all of a sudden he kicked up my board and took off with it.  It was funny at first, but then he started racing around, swerving around equipment, he did a couple jumps over there and almost wiped out bad.  I was worried about him and yelled at him to stop but he just took off.  I thought he was going to hurt himself!”

 

“Okay, let’s go find him,” Liam decides. 

 

“Don’t you think that you should let him calm down a bit?” Chloe asks.

 

Louis shook his head, “No, I can’t let this fester in either of us.  You stay here, we got this.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It didn’t take long to find the omega pacing around their dressing room restlessly tossing a ball from one hand to another.  Louis can’t stop himself; as soon as he lays eyes on Zayn he runs forward and engulfs him in a tight hug causing the omega to drop his ball. 

 

“I am so, so, so sorry Z.  I didn’t mean any of that, I swear I didn’t.  I was just worried, but that is no excuse.  Please forgive me, please!” Louis cried. 

 

Zayn sighed but didn’t return the hug.  “Look Lou, I know you didn’t mean it.  I forgive you, yeah?”

 

Finally Louis let go; he still felt terrible and he didn’t really feel like Zayn had forgiven him which was of course pretty understandable.  He had been a twat, and one little apology wasn’t going to fix that right away. 

 

Liam then wrapped an arm around the omega’s shoulders and led him over to the couch and sat him down.  “Zayn, what is going on? Louis said that you were being reckless and that you didn’t listen to him when he told you to slow down.  You are never that defiant with us.”

 

Zayn refuses to make eye contact, choosing instead to stare resolutely at his knees. 

 

“Zayn, you could have gotten hurt,” Harry continued. 

 

“We just want to make sure that you are safe and okay.  Please talk to us,” Niall finished. 

 

When Zayn still refused to acknowledge them Liam spoke again.  “Sweetheart, your safety is the most important thing in the world to us; but it is a partnership between us.  We are alphas, it is our job to look after you, but in order to do that we need you to listen to us when we tell you to do something, yeah?”

 

“If there is something bothering you, you can always come to us, no matter what it is.  We are here for you Z,” Niall says earnestly. 

 

That is finally what breaks Zayn. 

 

“That’s just it!  You are always fucking here!  All the fucking time!” Zayn explodes.  The alphas can do nothing stare at him in shock as Zayn continues to rant.  “I can’t even fucking remember the last time that I had even five fucking minutes to myself.  Fuck!  You don’t even let shower or take a piss by myself.  If it is not at least one of you it is security!  I just fucking want to be alone for a bit!” Zayn fumed. 

 

Zayn got up and stormed towards the door.  “Zayn wait!” Harry called, getting up and making to follow the omega. 

 

“NO!” Zayn spun around so that he was facing the alphas again.  “Did you not hear a fucking word I just said?  I want to be alone!”  With that Zayn ran out the door, slamming it behind him, leaving the dumfounded alphas wondering what the hell just happened.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn didn’t know why he was acting like this.  The boys were right; he had never been this defiant to them before.  He had never wanted to be.  He had never had an issue with them always being around him.  Sure he liked to have alone time, but the boys knew that and they would give him some space when they felt that he needed it.  They would stay in the room, but they would leave let him do his own thing when they could tell that he needed it.  It was a system that they had and it worked before… so what was happening now?

 

Zayn spent the rest of the day before the concert skating around, trying his best to stay as far away from everyone as possible.  He felt horrible for what he had said to the boys.  The omega in him cringed at the tone that he had taken with them; but he still couldn’t bring himself to go back and apologize.  His inner omega wanted nothing more than to go and get cuddles and kisses, but he just couldn’t do it. 

 

On top of everything else, his whole body felt tingly and it was putting him on edge. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

For their part, the alphas did give Zayn the illusion of space.  They, along with security and crew kept a discreet eye on the omega for the rest of the day.  There was no way that they were actually going to just let him go off on his own, especially when he was in a mood like that, but they figured that the best that they could do was stay out of sight but still monitor his activities. 

 

The boys would be glad when this night was over.  After this they were going back home.  Maybe after the concert they would all be worn out enough to get all of these emotions out of their systems.  Besides, tomorrow was a new day.  The alphas decided that they would just discuss it with Zayn in the morning and come up with a solution to Zayn feeling smothered that did not jeopardize his safety. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The last show was the worst one that they have ever had.  Not because of how they sang, or the crowd, not even because of technical issues.  The problem was Zayn.  He was out of control and there was no way that the alphas could stop him while they were onstage, in front of thousands of screaming fans with cameras tracking their every move. 

 

Zayn has been running around all over since they stepped out on stage.  He has been running and jumping on equipment, sliding down some of the ramps, at one point he was climbing the scaffolding on stage that the lights were attached too.  The boys didn’t have any idea what the hell was going on.  For Christ’s sakes, Zayn was scared of heights!

 

Liam grabs him when he finally starts coming down but is pushed roughly away by the omega who then takes off down to B stage without a backwards glance. 

 

At one point Zayn wasn’t watching where he was going and almost ran into active pyrotechnics, he would have had Harry not seen and ran over, grabbing him around the waste and pulling him away from the fire that would have surly severely burned him.  All Harry got for his trouble was a harsh shove and the omega running away from him again. 

 

By the time the first notes of the last song start, all of the alphas are at their wits end and are ready to pull out their hair.  Their nerves are frayed to the max.  This whole night it has seemed like Zayn was on a mission to get himself killed or at least seriously hurt.  He is being downright dangerous. 

 

For a brief moment in the middle of the last song the alphas watch as Zayn is partway down the catwalk heading to B stage and appears to be sizing up the distance between the stage and the crowd.  With the open space and the barriers there is about ten feet separating the fans from the stage.  In that brief horrifying moment the alphas think that Zayn is going to try to run and jump the distance and attempt to crowd surf.  They breathe a sigh of relief when they watch him shake his head and continue walking the rest of the way instead of running.  Their relief was short lived though when they watch as their omega jumps off the end of stage be, darts around security and leaps over the barricade into a throng of fans. 

 

From that second on it is pure pandemonium in the stadium.  The fans are whipped into a frenzy at having their idol so close to them.  Each of the alphas feel their hearts stop and they have to fight every instinct that they have to not jump into crowd after their omega.  But they can’t do that, common sense and the prevailing need to protect wins out.  There can only be two outcomes of any of the alphas jumping into the fray.  The first is that it sends the fans into more of mob taking the situation from dangerous to possibly deadly not only for them and Zayn but for the fans as well.  The second outcome is that he alphas lose their temper and hurt a fan.  The boys run to the end of B stage and watch in dismay as their boy gets swallowed up. 

 

The bands security as well as the security provided by the stadium can do nothing.  They are all either alphas and betas and not a single one of them have the balls to crowd to grab the omega and drag him out.  Their job is to protect the band and the fans but grabbing an omega and dragging him out of that mess that close to his alphas was sure to cause a fight that would be dangerous for all involved. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn has no idea what is going on with him.  He is internally panicking and it is causing him to act out.  He feels hot all over and the tingling still hasn’t stopped.  If anything it has just intensified.  He knows that he is pissing off the alphas but he just can’t stop himself. 

 

Zayn has no idea what he was thinking when he leapt into the crowd and he regretted it almost immediately.  There are hands grabbing him and pulling at him.  Zayn literally cannot hear anything above the dull pounding in his ears.  There is no way for him to get out; there are people on every side of him, crushing him.  It is only a matter of moments before Zayn is pushed down to his knees by the swell of the mob surrounding him. 

 

It felt like he was there for hours but in reality it was probably only a minute or two.  Zayn felt an arm wrap around his belly and yank him to his feet and began dragging him through the multitude of people.  In seconds the omega and the body pulling him emerged out of the crowd.  Zayn quickly turned and saw that it was Chloe that had pulled him out. 

 

Liam and Louis were suddenly on either side of him and lifting him back up on the stage and handing him off to Harry and Niall, before climbing up after him. 

 

Zayn was scared, embarrassed, confused, and so so hot.  There was a tightness in his chest and he wanted to be held and consoled by his alphas… no the alphas… they weren’t his.  Why was he even thinking like that?  They were not bonded.  But a larger part of him just felt the need to escape.  He felt like a stranger in his own body, he just needed to get away; he needed to clear his head and think.  He couldn’t do it here… the fans were still screaming, the music was still blaring, the fireworks were flashing and causing a smoky haze to settle around the stage. 

 

The omega felt hands clutching at him, running all over his body checking for damage or injury.  He could hear the alphas questioning him, but he couldn’t make out the individual words that they were saying.  He stood there dazed for a moment before ripped himself away from their hands and yelled, “I just need a minute, I’m sorry, please… just finish the show and find me backstage.”  With that he took off full speed down the stage. 

 

The boys had no choice… they had to finish the song.  It was almost over then they would find Zayn and get to the bottom of what was going on.  “Chloe!  Follow him!” Louis yelled at the beta.  Chloe didn’t even hesitate before she sprinted after the fleeing omega. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn doesn’t know where he is even heading but when he finally stops running he is back in the dressing room.  There the sound of the music playing is just a dull hum and he feels like he can finally breath as he sucks in a deep breath.  Damn, why is he so hot?  He is use to sweating and being hot on stage, his skin gets sticky and tacky, and his hair mats to his head, but this is different.  It is like his insides are on fire.  He needs to cool down.  Zayn rips his shirt off and hurries to the mini fridge in the room, grabbing a water bottle and chugging it so fast he almost chokes. 

 

The omega never hears the person come into the room behind him.  He never feels the danger that is lurking behind him.  One second he is trying to catch his breath as a few drops of water drip down his chin then the next second he feels a blinding pain erupting at the base of his skull and the world goes black. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It is only about three minutes before the alphas are running backstage in search of their omega.  Everything is chaotic and they have no idea where to even begin looking.  There are too many people moving around for them to be able to catch Zayn’s scent, and even if they did, he had been all over the stadium that day, his scent would be everywhere.  They questioned everyone they came across and only a few people had seen Zayn, but no one knew where he had gone, they had only seen him tearing away from the stage.  Like the security out during the concert, no one, except apparently Chloe, had the balls to grab him and stop him. 

 

It is about another ten minutes before the boys find their way into their dressing room.  Niall notices it first.  “Lads!  He was in here… this is the shirt that he was wearing!”

 

“But where is he know?” Louis asked.  He was so frustrated.  Zayn was obviously in distress and had been all day, that is the only reason that he would have acted out like he had, and they had handled it badly.  Hell, they had hardly handled it at all.  So far they were making out to be pretty piss poor alphas indeed. 

 

“Oh my god.”

 

Liam turns and sees Harry staring at the floor by the mini fridge.  “Harry what is it?”

 

“Blood.”  Harry points to the floor.  The other boys circle around him and indeed there is a small puddle of blood on the floor. 

 

Niall is still clutching Zayn’s discarded shirt in his hands.  After a few moments of staring at the red stain on the carpet in shock he catches a whiff of something sweet; something that he thinks that he has smelled before; or at least something similar.  Without even knowing why, Niall brings the shirt up to his nose. 

 

“Fuck!  We have to find him!  We have to find him right now!”

 

Louis shoots a look at the blonde alpha and gives him his signature exasperated look.  “Yes Niall, clearly we have to find him.”

 

“No!  You don’t understand… Zayn is in heat!”

 

The other boys rush forward to sniff at the shirt and sure enough, the scent was unmistakable now, Zayn’s heat had finally come, and he was missing.

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh.... don't you just love cliffhangers? What is going to happen next?
> 
> Let me know what you think! Your comments give me life!! 
> 
> Saw lots of rumors that babygate is going to end tomorrow *crosses fingers* 
> 
> And, of course a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!! (actually, not really in my country yet... but details!) 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I loved writing it... the next few chapters are going to be for the books... you are all going to hate me... 
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading! All the love!!


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit... this is about 2,000 words longer than I had anticipated... but I got it up a few days sooner than I thought that I would... so... yay me!
> 
> Are you ready for some answers?

Panic sets in like a tsunami. 

 

“PAUL!” Liam roared at the top of his lungs. 

 

Seconds later the aforementioned runs into the room, “What!?  What’s wrong?”  Liam never yells, Louis yes, but never Liam.  Something must be amiss. 

 

“Zayn is missing!  We found his shirt on the floor and there is blood by the mini fridge and we can’t find him anywhere!”

 

“I’m sure that he is around here somewhere… he has been acting strange all day.  It isn’t a lot of blood, he could have gotten a scratch when he ran into the crowd,” Paul tried to reason. 

 

“No Paul,” Louis snatched the shirt out of Niall’s hands and threw it at the larger alpha.  “His heat started.  We have run all over this god forsaken stadium yelling for him.  He would have come to us.  He physically wouldn’t have been able to stay away from us.”

 

Harry let out a startled gasp drawing the attention of everyone in the room.  “Where is Chloe?  We sent her after him after he ran off stage.  I haven’t seen her since, have any of you?”  Everyone shook their heads.  “She must have seen the person who took Zayn and followed them!”

 

“Okay, here is what we are going to do,” Paul started.  “I am going to assemble all the security and we are going to search the building, if we still can’t find either Zayn or Chloe we are calling the police.  You boys stay here,” Paul raised his hands to silence the protests that he knew were coming.  “No, one of my charges is missing, I am not about to lose another one.  As soon as we find him you four will be the first to know.”  The next moment Paul was racing out of the room with his phone to his ear barking orders.

 

Niall had tears in his eyes as he sat down on one of the couches in the room, his knees trembling too much to keep him on his feet.  “He is safe.  He has to be.  Chloe is with him.  She would never let anything bad happen to him.  Chloe will bring him back to us.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The search of the building yields nothing.  The police arrive quickly and being their own canvas as stadium security begins reviewing closed circuited camera footage looking for any sign of Zayn or Chloe as well as looking for any other suspicious behavior.  Unfortunately most of the cameras are trained on crowds, entrance ways, and other heavily populated areas and there are not a lot of views in the back of the stage area where Zayn was most likely taken from, but no matter how small the odds they have to try. 

 

“Boys, this is Detective Inspector Owens, he is going to be the lead on this case,” Paul introduces when he walks into the dressing room followed by a large alpha with short blonde hair and a nicely trimmed beard. 

 

The boys, all in various degrees of agitation and panic greeted the Detective Inspector. 

 

“It is good to meet you,” Owens said.  “We are doing everything we can to get to the bottom of this and find your boy.  Now would you please go over the days’ events for me?”

 

Each of the boys took turns going through their versions of the events that had transpired, from Louis’ argument with Zayn to finding the shirt and blood in that very room.  Owens had a member of his forensics team come in to take photos and samples of the blood. 

 

When they were finished Owens said, “Okay, I am going to have a couple members of my team go and check out Chloe’s residence.”

 

“What!?” Louis explodes.  “Chloe didn’t have anything to do with this!  You were brought here to find Zayn!  Not to waste time checking on a member of our own team!”

 

“Mr. Tomlinson, I assure you that I know what I am doing.  It is my job to be highly suspicious, the fact that neither of them can be found is suspect.  If she is truly innocent then the faster that we rule her out as a suspect the faster we can find them both.  Please, let me do the job you called me here to do.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The next five hours drag on.  The boys are so tightly wound, they can only stay still for a few moments at a time before they have to get up and pace just for something to do.  There is an emptiness in their chests that is physically painful.  That ache became more pronounced when the forensics team had determined that the blood was omega, it would take several more hours to verify that it was in fact Zayn’s blood. 

 

Their first break comes after Zayn has been missing for three hours.  The techs who were reviewing playback footage found someone wearing a large black hoodie pulled over their head pushing a rolling recycling container out one of the back doors not very far down the hall from the dressing room where Zayn’s blood was found.  An outside camera showed the same person pulling something large and vaguely human shaped out of the bin and putting into the back of a car.  The lighting was horrible and no other details could be made out.  The techs were still trying to play with the footage to see if they could get more definition on the person, what was being moved and the license plate number on the vehicle, but so far they had come up empty.  At this point they couldn’t even tell if the person was a man or a woman. 

 

Owens was in the room with the boys and Paul, Preston, Paddy, Alberto, Dale and Basil when he got the call.  “Okay, send me the photos.”  A moment later his phone beeped indicated that he had an incoming text message.  Owens looked at it for a moment before turning to the other people in the room.  “My team found Chloe.”

 

“Is she okay?  Is Zayn with her?” Niall jumped up asking. 

 

“No, Zayn is not there.  Her body was found stuffed into a large freezer in her basement.  There is no telling how long she has been dead at this time, but her body is completely frozen through.  This is not something that happened within the last few hours.”

 

“What?  How can that be we just saw her during the show!” Liam cried. 

 

“Is this the woman you know as Chloe?” Owens said turning the phone to show a picture of an average sized woman with dark hair and skin with ice frozen on her clothing. 

 

“No,” Louis said in an empty tone.  “The Chloe we know is a redhead with pale skin.”

 

“We have already checked, the woman in the freezer is the real Chloe.  At this point it is safe to assume that the woman that you know murdered the real Chloe and assumed her identity.” 

 

“But how can that happen!?” Harry yelled.  “We had extensive background checks done.  References were called and checked out.”

 

“That’s it,” Paul said softly.  “References were called.  We asked about work history and ability.  We never asked what she looked like; we never asked any of her previous employers for a photo.”

 

Silence filled the room until it was finally broken by Niall, “But why would so do that?”  At that point no one knew the answer. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Louis followed Owens out into the hallway and grabbed his arm, turning him to face him.  “Look, I owe you an apology.  I’m sorry I should have trusted you, you were right to be suspicious of Chloe… or whatever her real name is… I just…”

 

“Don’t worry about it.  There are no hard feelings.  I just want to find your boy.”  Louis could do nothing but nod in response.  “I would suggest calling Zayn’s doctor.  He was going into heat when he was taken; the girl who has him is a beta.  We could use a medical opinion on what we will be dealing with when we find him.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It is another two hours before Dr. Gray arrives at Harry’s house where the boys, security, and Owens have been moved too.  There wasn’t anything more that they could do at the stadium; Zayn was not there.  The place was still being combed over by the authorities but Owens wanted to get the alphas to someplace more comfortable. 

 

Dr. Gray was quickly caught up on everything that happened. 

 

“I am not all that surprised by Zayn’s behavior earlier in the day.  He has never had a mature heat without suppressants in his system.  It is very likely that he didn’t even consciously recognize the signs of his heat starting.  His body might have known and that could be why he rebelled against you.  His body has been conditioned to know that heats equal pain and torture.  Before he was never in a position to get away and this time he was so he acted out. 

 

“What is going to happen to him?” Louis asks tightly. 

 

“There is really no way of knowing for sure.  His heat is starting and it is going to be bad for him, that we can be sure of.  If he is exposed to an alpha, I am sorry to say that it will almost positively result in him being raped again.  If he is not, the heat will be extremely intense.  My fear is that if he goes through it without an alpha that it will push him into omega space… and without an alpha there to guide him and pull him back… I don’t know what could happen.”

 

Meanwhile the police had been working with the bands management to get news and photos out to the press, ‘Chloe’s’ face was going to be on the front of every paper across the country. 

 

“Wait,” Dr. Gray stops, her attention turning to the telly which is showing a news release with the redhead’s face on it urging anyone with any information to call the authorities.  “That is the girl who took Zayn?”

 

“We believe so, do you recognize her?” Owens demanded.

 

“That is Staci; she was a nurse at London Hospital where I work.  She quit a few months back; she said something about wanting to travel for a year or two.”  Dr. Gray turns back to the bandmates, “You know her too.  She was one of the nurses who were with Zayn when he first came to London Hospital from Bradford.  Your team had her sign a non-discloser agreement at the time.  She was also there when Zayn miscarried.  It made sense to have all the same hospital staff work on both instances because of the paperwork needed.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Everything slowly clicked into place after that.  None of the boys had talked to Staci, but they had seen her.  She had changed her hair, straightened it from her natural curls, got rid of her glasses; now that the connection was made they had no idea how they never saw it before.  It was so obvious.  Management had never figured out how the press had gotten word that Zayn had ever been pregnant but now they knew.  This Staci had been there and leaked it to the press.  She had quit the hospital not very long after Zayn had been released after the miscarriage. 

 

The police did extensive digging into Staci’s background once they were able to identify her thanks to Dr. Gray.  They found out that Staci had been trained in fighting for years.  She had been introduced to the real Chloe a few years back when they both used the same gym and had been friends ever since, hence how she was able to fit into the role of Chloe so seamlessly.  The biggest blow yet though came when it was uncovered that the reason that Staci had been training in self-defense and martial arts was because her parents had gotten her into it when she was young because she had been bullied by her classmates.  Staci had been bullied because her alpha brothers had been kicked out of school for attacking a newly presented omega.  The omega wasn’t hurt, only scared and no official charges were filed, but it was enough for the school to take action.  The alpha brothers were none other than David and Dillon, the alphas who the boys and Paul had found knotting Zayn all those months ago.  It wasn’t a stretch to think that Staci killed her friend in order to steal her identity to get close to the band, and most notably to Zayn, in order to get revenge for the deaths of her brothers. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

_12 hours missing_

 

“Boys, you should really get some rest,” Karen said gently.  There were still tear tracks glistening on her cheeks.  She and Geoff had arrived a couple hours earlier and had spent that time attempting to console their son and his bandmates.  Anne and Gemma were due to arrive shortly and Jay would get there later on in the evening.  Maura and Bobby wouldn’t be able to arrive until the following day.

 

“Mum, how are we supposed to rest?  Our omega is missing; kidnapped!  His heat is in full swing by now!  He could be getting raped at this very moment and you want us to rest!” Liam all but roared, panic flooding his words. 

 

“Son, the police _will_ find him and when they do, he is going to need all of you to be well rested and thinking clearly so that you can take care of him,” Geoff attempted to reason. 

 

“No,” Louis responded before Liam could get another word out.  “We will sleep when we have him back and we know that he is safe.”

 

Knowing that they had lost the battle, at least for now, Karen and Geoff nodded their heads and wrapped their arms around their youngest child.  Liam wouldn’t listen to their advice to rest but at least he accepted their comfort. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

_18 hours missing_

 

“Those boys have been up for over thirty hours.  I am really worried about them,” Karen said to Anne and Jay where they gathered in the kitchen to make tea. 

 

“They won’t rest willingly.  They haven’t sat still for more than five minutes at a time since I have been here,” Anne agreed. 

 

Jay pulled a small bottle out of her purse and placed it on the counter.  “That is why I want to give them something to gently nudge them in that direction,” Jay says. 

 

“You want to drug them?” Karen gasps.

 

“It is just an over the counter sleep aid.  It is nothing that all of the boys haven’t used before when they needed to get to sleep and were too stressed.  I know for a fact that they have all used this same brand before.”

 

“I hate to do it… but I think that it is necessary,” Anne said. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Jay was right; all the boys had used sleep aids from time to time, with their hectic schedules it was unavoidable.  With the proper dosage dissolved in their tea all four boys found themselves curled up on the couch together fighting their drooping eyelids, waiting in vain for some information on their missing omega, until they couldn’t hold out any longer and drifted into a much needed slumber. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

_3 days missing_

 

“I don’t understand how we could let this happen!”

 

Louis was wound as tight as a bow string.  The stress has literally been eating him alive.  The house is large, but with eleven people staying under one roof full time and security and police in and out at all hours of the day it is grinding on everyone. 

 

“Lou stop!” Harry begged. 

 

“We said that we would protect him Harry!  We promised him!  He could be dead right now for all we know!”

 

Liam jerked up from where he was sitting at the dining room table, “Don’t say that!  Don’t even think that!”

 

“Everyone shut the fuck up!” Niall yelled.  “We have already had this conversation; we are not having it again.  We can blame each other and ourselves from now until we die and it won’t change the fact that this happened.  What’s done is done.  The only thing that we can change now is how we react to it.  Zayn would not want us fighting or yelling at each other, or blaming each other and we all know it.”

 

“I need some air,” Louis huffs quickly taking his leave from the room. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

_5 days missing_

 

“Harry, you have been cooking for two days,” Gemma says calmly placing a gentle hand on her brother’s shoulder.  “Don’t you think it is time to stop?  I know there is a lot of people here but we are running out of room in the fridge.”

 

“I can’t stop… I need to stay busy.  I can’t think about it Gem, I just can’t.  If I do then I’ll never stop thinking about it and it will drive me crazy.”  The cooking and the baking had been doing a sufficient job of keeping Harry’s thoughts preoccupied by focusing on the mundane tasks of following recipes and measuring ingredients; at least until he realized that he was making samosas and samosas are Zayn’s favorite food.  If anyone noticed the half-finished food in the bin or the stains on the wall where it had splattered when he chucked it across the room no one mentioned it. 

 

Even now, with just the vague mention from Gemma beating around the bush on the topic Harry felt his hands starting to shake.  He needed to focus… pie… he was making apple pie.  He needed four cups of sliced apples.  He could do this; all he had to do was concentrate.  Harry grabbed an apple and a small paring knife and started peeling the fruit.  Luckily Gemma dropped the subject, choosing instead to pick up a knife and apple herself and set to work.    

 

Anne came in a while later, standing in the doorway watching as her children worked together silently.  Taking a deep breath she stepped up behind her little boy and hugged him, resting her cheek on his shoulder.  Harry didn’t say anything, but he didn’t move away from her touch either; she was counting it as a win. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

_8 days missing_

 

“Da?  Can I talk to you?” Niall said gently knocking on the door to one of the spare bedrooms. 

 

“Of course Niall, you can always talk to me.”

 

Niall slowly walked into the room.  There were two beds in this one as Bobby and Maura were sharing it and they hadn’t slept in the same bed since Niall was small before they got a divorce.  Niall sat down on Bobby’s bed played with his fingers, not able to look at his father. 

 

When it became apparent that his son wasn’t going to say anything Bobby approached him, sitting on the bed next to him and pulling him into a tight embrace.  No words were spoken but it was like a dam broke inside blonde.  Sobs wracked through his body and Niall was powerless to stop it.  Honestly, even if he could have it probably wouldn’t have anyway.  He needed to get this off his chest, he felt like there was a poison in is body, polluting his organs, and his tears were the only outlet. 

 

Niall didn’t know how long he stayed like that, crying into his father’s chest, but it was long enough that he knew that his face was red and blotchy and his eyes swollen.  His da’s shirt was also pretty thoroughly dampened by his tears and snot.  He only broke away when he heard another person enter the room. 

 

“Oh, I’m sorry dear.  I didn’t realize you both were in here,” Maura said as she made to back out of the room. 

 

“No, please stay,” Niall said quietly.

 

Maura didn’t need to be told twice; her baby boy was hurting and she would do anything in her power to try and make that pain go away.  She knew that it wasn’t possible but she would do her best, and right now that including wrapping her son up in a tight motherly embrace. 

 

The three of them sat for an undeterminable amount of time, parents coddling their youngest son, inclosing him in the circle of their arms and holding on tight as they let him cry out all of his suffering. 

 

It was a long time before Niall was able to talk, but eventually he got there.  “Zayn’s heat will be over by now.  We weren’t there for him.  He needed us and we were not there.”

 

“Baby, it is not your fault; it is not any of your faults.  These circumstances were out of your control,” Maura assured. 

 

“It is just… it seems like every time he needs us… really needs us… that we fail him.  And not just a little bit fail him… we epically fail him.  What if we never get him back?  What if he thinks that we abandoned him?”

 

“Zayn would never think that.  He may not have allowed you boys to bond him yet but that boy loves all of you with all his heart.  Anyone can see that.  You have to have faith, Niall,” Maura said. 

 

“Even if we do find him… how do we work past this?  He has been hurt so much… and we let it happen… even if it was just because we were too trusting or too naive.  Even if we get him back… how are we supposed to fix the damage that has already been done?

 

“We can’t answer that for you son.  We have never been in this situation, we don’t have any answers; but I know that you lads will figure it out.  I know that you were meant to be together.”  Bobby’s words rung through Niall’s head for days afterwards, at times it was the only thing keeping him going. 

 

They will figure it out and they were meant to be together. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

_15 days missing_

 

None of the boys had spoken to each other in two days and it was all Louis’ fault.  He was so angry at all of them, but he was even angrier at himself.  They never, under any circumstances should have let Zayn leave that stage without them.  They were his alphas, bond notwithstanding, they never should have left the job of following him when he was in obvious distress to one of their security team.  If they had done their fucking jobs as alphas then Zayn never would have been taken. 

 

Louis had been trying to contain all of this anger by bottling it up inside of himself.  Every once in a while, a bit of it would bubble over and every time that happened and he got a grip on himself it seemed like the pressure just built up more instead of dissipating. 

 

Finally it boiled over and an ugly shouting match ensued between the four of them.  They all loved each other, there was no doubt about that… but sometimes you can be the meanest and most nasty with those that you love the most.  They had fought before of course.  Living life in the pockets of four other people… they were bound to clash from time to time; but this was by far the worst that it had ever been. 

 

It was shocking how fast that it escalated.  It was like all they needed was one little spark for it all to erupt; and erupt it did.  Of course Louis was that spark; isn’t he always?  They were in each other’s faces, spitting out biting words without a thought to their internal filter in seconds.  Four angry, hurt and frustrated alphas running on pent up nerves was a bad idea and their tempers flared easily.  Louis was sure that it was going to result in flying fists before Bobby and Geoff broke them up. 

 

Each of the boys split up to their own corners of the house and refused to talk to anyone but their respective family members. 

 

After two days Jay had finally had enough and she cornered her oldest son.  She knew how Louis operated; she had raised him after all.  Louis would ignore his feelings, suppress them, compact them down until they were like little diamonds inside of him.  While diamonds are pretty, the problem with doing that is that diamonds can cut through just about anything; including relationships. 

 

Jay was beginning to lose hope that Zayn would be found at this point.  It had been over two weeks; she didn’t know at what point someone should breach the topic of the unthinkable.  What she did know was that before that could happen; the boys’ relationship had to be mended.  If they never found Zayn the boys would need each other more than ever. 

 

“Boo Bear, what are the words that you have tattooed across your chest?”

 

Louis looks at his mum like she has lost her mind.

 

“Don’t you give me that look young man; you may be an alpha and I may be an omega, but I am your mother, so answer me.  What does that tattoo say?”  


“It is what it is,” Louis said in a soft tone that he very rarely ever uses. 

 

“That’s right.  Now you know that I don’t condone your affliction for tattoos, but right now that one I can relate too,” Jay said.  “This situation that you are in, that all of you boys are in, is hard.  This is not something that anyone should ever have to go through.  But the fact is that you are, and you can’t do this by yourself.  I am here for you, always, but I don’t know what you are going through.  I can imagine, but that is all it is, imagining.  You need someone who knows exactly what you are going through.  You need someone who shares your fears and your anger and your frustrations.  You need someone who can relate to exactly everything that you are feeling.”

 

“Luckily for you, there are three other’s in this house, that understand what you are going through.  They get it, and what’s more is that they need you too.  I know that some hurtful things were said, from all of you, but you need each other.”

 

Louis hung his head.  “I know,” he whispered.  “but I broke it and I don’t know how to fix it.”

 

“Oh sweetie,” Jay cooed, “you didn’t break anything.  Your bond with all those boys, Zayn included is too strong to ever break.  Sure you can damage it, that relationship can be bruised and scratched and left a bloody mess, but it cannot be broken to the point that it is irreparable.  Love can heal anything.”

 

Jay knew the second that her words broke through the stubbornness of her oldest child’s prickly exterior.  She saw the tears well up in his eyes even as he tried to hide them by turning his face up to the ceiling almost like he was trying to will the tears back into this tear ducks. 

 

“Let it out, Louis.”

 

Just like that the walls came crashing down and Louis launched himself at his mum, burying his face in her shoulder and weeping. 

 

When all of Louis’ tears had dried up, and his sobs had turned to hiccups, which had then faded into nothing Jay asked, “Do you know what you have to do now?”

 

Louis nodded. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It was easier to get all the boys into their bedroom than Louis would have thought considering everything that had happened.  They had avoided sleeping in that room since Zayn went missing; it didn’t feel right to sleep there with their omega not there. 

 

When everyone was sat on the bed, Louis couldn’t help but notice the distance that they kept from each other, no one daring to make physical contact.  Louis had thought that he had cried himself out but he was wrong.  He didn’t even try to hide his tears when he shuddered out “I’m so sorry.  I was upset, we all are, I know… but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you lads.  I’m so, so sorry for everything that I said.”  Louis doesn’t normally cry, though to be fair, this last year had been the exception, but it was still unnerving to see those beautiful eyes cloud over and go grey, the blood vessels reddening where the eyes use to be white.  It was amazing how he could still look pretty even now with his face swollen and puffy. 

 

With blinding speed Harry, Liam and Niall launched themselves at him, gathering him and each other in a tight group hug; heads banging together in their haste to receive comfort from what was essentially a pack only without the legalities.  Hands clutched shirts and refused to let go as murmured apologies flew out of their mouths, talking over one another in an effort to receive forgiveness first for their stupidity and anger. 

 

The four boys finally fell asleep together on the bed for the first time in months.  It didn’t exactly feel right, but the tension had dissipated enough from their bodies and it left them feeling drained.  They needed the closeness of each other to be able to recharge their batteries so that they could go out and face the day.  They knew that they would be okay as long as they had each other. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Liam awoke first to his phone vibrating in his pocket.  Trying not to jostle the other three boys who were still piled around him sleeping Liam answered his phone.

 

“This is Liam.  You have!  Is he okay!?” Liam shouted all pretenses of staying quiet shot out the window when he heard what the caller was telling him.  “Okay, text me the address, we are on our way!”

 

“Wake up!” Liam shouted at the boys as he hastily fought out of the tangle of limbs to climb out of the bed. 

 

“What’s going on Li?” Louis asked drowsily. 

 

“That was Detective Olson; they found Zayn.  He said we need to get there as fast as possible.  He didn’t say how he is, only that Zayn is alive.” 

 

Fast as lightning all four alphas were off, hoping with all they had that their boy was safe and that he would be returned to them unharmed. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HA! You probably thought that you would be finding out what happened to Zayn... you probably also thought that we would get some smut in that chapter... sorry to disappoint. lol. I am evil I know. 
> 
> I have part of the next chapter written... have had it written for months now... but it needs serious editing. I am in a good groove writing wise so hopefully I can keep this posting streak up! 
> 
> Let me know what you think! I love the comments! They seriously make my day... they warm my heart... they give me life!! Basically, I really like them! 
> 
> See you again soon!
> 
> All the love!


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure how happy I am with this chapter... I feel like so much has led up to it and I don't know if I did it justice... but it is what it is. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

The boys flung open the van doors and were leaping out of the vehicle before Paul could even come to a complete stop.  It had taken an hour to get through the dense London traffic to get to the address sent to Liam’s phone by Owens’.

 

“Zayn!”

 

“Where is he!?”

 

All the boys were yelling over each other as they rushed to the house.  Within seconds the police mulling around the residence converged on them, blocking their entrance.  Growls erupted simultaneously as the lads fought to break through the impromptu barricade. 

 

“STOP!” a booming voice bellowed. 

 

The officers backed away from the lads as Owens approached.  “I will take you to him, but I must talk to you first, please follow me inside.”  The boys wasted no time entering the house behind the Detective Inspector.  The door they entered lead to a small kitchen, “Please sit down,” Owens gestured to the table in the middle of the room.  None of the boys moved, instead they just trained their eyes on the alpha waiting for them to continue.  The anxiety the boys were feeling was tangible and radiating off of them in waves. 

 

“Okay,” the Detective Inspector started.  “Dr. Gray was contacted as soon as we found him.  She arrived about fifteen minutes ago and is with him now.  She is examining him the best that she can at this time.”

 

“What do you mean ‘the best that she can’?” Niall interrupts. 

 

“I mean there are some barriers that we couldn’t risk breaking down before you lot were here.”  The boys looked at him questioning, fear was beginning to show on their faces due to how careful Owens was being with his wording. 

 

“What is wrong with him?  What happened?” Louis asked bluntly. 

 

“We don’t know for sure, but we think that he is still in heat.  We won’t know for sure until we can get him out; but if he is… none of my men and women, alphas or betas can be in here.  It would be too dangerous for Zayn and for us.  That is why we needed you here.”

 

Each of the boys felt their blood run cold.  Zayn had been missing for over two weeks and his heat was starting even hours before that that.  A heat only lasts for a week, if an omega is lucky it won’t even last that long.  An omegas body is built to withstand the effects of a heat but even so at the end they are left exhausted and weak.  Doubling that time would increase the damage to Zayn’s body exponentially. 

 

“What would cause him to still be in heat?” Liam asked.

 

“We don’t know yet.  I am going to leave now and let you go to him.  He is in the basement with Dr. Gray.  None of my officers are going to come back in here until you all are out.  I will back them away from the building so when you are ready to come out there shouldn’t be any problem.  Just remember, I know that emotions are running high right now… but Dr. Gray is there to help.”  Without another word Owens turned on his heel and walked out the door. 

 

The boys turned the other towards the door Owens had indicated was the basement and quickly made their way to their waiting omega. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Nothing could have prepared them for what they saw when they reached the bottom of the stairs.  These last two weeks had been filled with horror filled nightmares of the torture that their omega could have been enduring; but nothing could have prepared them for the reality that they were about to face.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

At first they didn’t even know what they were looking at.  All that they could recognize was that Dr. Gray was kneeling next to an odd looking cube with the sides caved in.  It wasn’t until they got closer that they saw what it was… and what was inside it. 

 

It was indeed a cube, wrapped in shiny black latex; all the air had been vacuumed out of the inside of the cube causing the latex to cave in on the figure caught inside it.  It was a person; their limbs contorted at odd painful looking angles, being suspended frontside down inside the cube.  The positioning of the latex, especially where it pulled out to wrap around the cube made it difficult to make out the features of the person trapped inside but after a few moment of staring in horror the boys were able to make out the shape of a head with what appeared to be a tube coming out of it.  The latex was pulled so tightly around the body that they could make out every crevice and contours of the figure underneath.  They could see the indents of ribs and the outline of pointed hips; they could see fisted hands and curled toes. 

 

“Oh my God,” Harry breathed out.  “Is that Zayn?” 

 

Dr. Gray looked up, “Yes,” she said simply.

 

“Is he breathing!?” Niall cried.

 

Dr. Gray had her stethoscope pressed to what was determined to be the side of Zayn’s chest as she nodded.  “His breathing is very shallow but his heart is beating erratically.”

 

 

Liam broke out of the trance that he seemed to have fallen under.  “Why is he still in it!?  Why hasn’t he been cut out!?”

 

“Liam, there is warmth radiating from this cocoon; the kind of warmth that comes from heat.  The police force is all betas and alphas.  If Zayn is still in heat and his scent is being trapped in this contraption… cutting it open would release that smell.  None of them would be able to control themselves, not even the betas,” Dr. Gray explained.  Owens had said just about the same thing, but it didn’t click until now what he was talking about. 

 

“Well we are here now.  We need to get him out.”  Niall said, and if his voice was shaking a little, no one called him out on it. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“Okay, it is the suction inside of the latex from the vacuum that is holding him up and in that position.  As soon as the latex is cut he is going to fall.  We need to cushion him and make sure that he doesn’t hit the floor when we do,” Dr. Gray instructed. 

 

The boys quickly took places on each side of the cube and grabbed onto the omega while Dr. Gray readied a knife to break the seal. 

 

“Zayn, if you can hear us… we are here and we are going to get you out,” Harry said placing his face next to where Zayn’s ear would be.  “You are safe now.”  Harry gently ran his fingers over the contours of the omega’s face hidden under the thick latex.  The doctor was right; the material was hot to the touch.  

 

Dr. Gray slashed at the latex.  It was harder than they thought it would be, slowing down the omega’s fall now that gravity could work on the body inside the cube, but with their quick reflexes they were able to set Zayn on the floor gently while Dr. Gray cut away the material surrounding him. 

 

The smell hit them like a brick; it was so strong even Dr. Gray stumbled back from the force of it.  Zayn was most assuredly still in heat.  Had any other alphas been in the vicinity they would have been compelled to Zayn’ the only thing that would stand a chance at stopping them would be another alpha challenging them.  As it was, all of the alphas felt instantaneous hardening below their belts. 

 

Seeing Zayn laid out on the ground, outside of his latex prison, was infinitely worse. 

 

The omega, who had just gotten to a healthy weight, was back to being bones tightly covered in pale sickly skin.  All of his joints and bones were visible; maybe even worse than they had ever seen it, he looked more skeletal than anything.  His hair had been shaved off almost completely, only leaving a dusting of fuzz over his scalp. 

 

The tiny omega’s body was covered in a sheen of slick and sweat.  The amount of slick that had accumulated was the only real indication of the length of time that the omega had been trapped in the vacuum cube. 

 

The worst were his eyes.  The natural sparkle there that had been gone for so long, only to reappear after months of being doted on by his alphas was gone again.  In its place was pure lifelessness.  His eyes didn’t move; they just stared blankly ahead.  If it wasn’t for the slight rise and fall of his chest and the wheezing that was coming with every breath they would have thought that he was dead. 

 

At least they thought that his eyes were the worst.  It wasn’t.  They all noticed at the same time.  Harry gasped audibly; his had flying to his mouth, Niall cried out in shock, Louis’ eyes bugged out of his head and Liam… Liam fell to his knees beside their non-responsive omega. 

 

Zayn was hog-tied with his arm and ankles bent behind him, metal and leather four-way cuffs restrained him, the material cutting harshly into the omega’s skin.  There was a spreader bar shackled to his knees spreading his legs wide.  There were pressure bruises lining his body where the seams of the latex had come together and met his skin.  There was a collar fastened tightly around the omegas neck and attached to the back of it was a chain that ran down his back and between his legs where it was attached to an intricate cock cage.  The chain was pulled taught, if Zayn dropped his head it would pull on the cage painfully, so his back was arched uncomfortably out of necessity. 

 

The omega’s balls were swollen and had taken on an angry purple hue.  His cock was soft trapped in the apparatus and red patches, almost like burns littered the soft skin there.  It clicked for Dr. Gray what that meant before it did the alphas and she ran to the corner and began heaving. 

 

None of the alphas could assist her, their attention solely on Zayn.  When the doctor had finally gotten control of herself she said, “He hasn’t been allowed to cum.  That is the only explanation for it.  That is why he is still in heat.  The only way that she would have been able to put a cage on him was when she first took him.  He would have already been hard; the only way to get it on was to make him soft.  Cumming wouldn’t do it.  Those marks… she iced him to make him soft then put the cage on.  I can also tell you that he shows no signs of being raped again.”

 

Louis knew that it was bad, but he still didn’t understand what could have driven the doctor to vomiting.  “What does this mean?”

 

“His only chance is to be mated.  If you don’t, he will die.  As it is we may be too late, he may be too far gone.  He is in omega space now there is no telling how long he has been there or how deep he is.”

 

Liam blanched at the doctor’s words.  “We can’t mate him.  He made it perfectly clear that he was not ready for that.  He didn’t want anything to do with that until after his heat.  We can’t go against his wishes.”

 

“If we mated him… that would make us just as bad as his abusers!” Harry argued. 

 

“I am telling you, if you don’t do this, he will die.”

 

“But,” Harry started. 

 

“Okay, just stop for a moment.  The first thing that we have to do is get him out of these restraints then we have to get him out of here.  If we have to mate him in order to save him I sure as hell am not doing it here,” Liam ordered. 

 

“Liam’s right.  You have to be very careful.  His muscles and joints are going to be very stiff and painful,” Dr. Gray advised.  “I don’t dare touch him… you four are doing very well with your possessiveness but I can’t push it anymore.”

 

Each alpha nodded and started peeling back the Velcro that secured the restraints.  Liam very carefully unfastened the collar.  When it was removed, Zayn’s head fell down to the floor, though when his arms and legs were freed, they stayed where they were.  Under Dr. Gray’s careful instruction the alphas maneuvered the omega’s limbs until they could roll him over to lie on his back. 

 

Louie ran his fingers down Zayn’s cheek and cupped the side of the omega’s neck.  “Zayn, sweetie.  We are here.  You’re safe now.  You’re safe.”

 

Niall reached for the cage, wanting to remove it as soon as possible.  He felt sympathy pain in his groin just from looking at Zayn.  He couldn’t imagine just how much pain his omega had to be in.  “There is a lock on it… we need to find a key.”

 

“No need,” Liam said.  The alpha saw a small pair of bolt cutters on the tool counter against the wall.  Liam retrieved it and handed the tool to the blonde who made quick work of cutting the lock off the cage.  Using nimble fingers from years of playing guitar, Niall cautiously pulled off the cage and removed the ring.  Zayn’s cock immediately began plumping and swelling, transforming from a pale pink to an angry red in record time.

 

“You need to apply gentle yet firm pressure to his legs and arms to stretch the muscles.  He won’t be able to move them on his own,” the doctor instructed. 

 

Liam and Harry each took a leg and carefully bent it at the knee and pushed it up to his chest, pulling and stretching the muscles and joints.  His body was so stiff that they had to apply quite a bit of pressure to do so.  Niall and Louis did the same with his arms, bending at the elbows and rotating the shoulders.

 

All the while each of the alphas cooed soft encouraging words to their omega and ran their hands over his skin, trying to sooth him. 

 

“Boys, he is in bad shape.  He didn’t react when you stretched his muscles… he should have been screaming in pain.  You need to get him out of here and mate him.  I agree with you, he deserves better.  He deserves to choose if he wants to be mated.  I get it I do, but if you don’t mate him, you will lose him.”

 

The alphas shared a look.  “We need to get him rinsed off then get him out of here,” Louis spoke for all of them. 

 

“I will leave you too it then.  There is nothing else that I can do for him now; it is up to you four.  Call me when his heat is over so that I can examine him again.”  None of the alphas spared the doctor a glance as she retreated from the residence. 

 

Harry made the first move after that and removed his jeans and shirt before picking the omega up and cradling him to his chest.  Without a word the curly haired alpha carried Zayn up the steps and into the first floor bathroom.  Liam turned on the water and adjusted it so that it was cool, not wanting warm water to heat up the already overheated omega.  Liam removed his shirt and trousers as well and followed Harry under the water to rinse off Zayn.  When most of the slick and sweat had been washed off and the overwhelming scent of heat was lessened, they stepped out and Niall and Louis met them with towels. 

 

The alphas never put Zayn down, refusing to let him go, wanting him to have as much skin to skin contact as possible to ground him.  Zayn had yet to make a sound, or move, and his eyes remained unfocused. 

 

Harry transferred the omega to Liam’s waiting arms and Louis grabbed a sheet to drape over him.  They were taking him out to the car and the alphas would be damned if anyone was going to see Zayn like this.  As soon as the blanket covered the omega’s head, he let out a quiet whimper and his body began trembling. 

 

“Wait!  Nope!  Take it off!”  Louis ripped the sheet away. 

 

“What’s wrong!?”

 

“He doesn’t like it, he whined and started shaking,” Liam answered. 

 

“We have to cover him Liam, I can’t have anyone looking at him,” Louis said shaking his head. 

 

“Okay, here, help me maneuver him.”  With Niall and Harry’s help Liam rearranged Zayn in his arms so that they were chest to chest.  Liam had one forearm under the omega’s bum holding him up and held the back of his neck with the other resting Zayn’s head on his shoulder.  With the new position Liam could whisper in Zayn’s ear to comfort him.  To the other boys, “Put the sheet over both of us, I’ll keep him calm and you all can guide me to the vehicle.”

 

The boys did just that.  Zayn continued to tremble with Liam whispering to him soothingly, he was kept from a full panic.  The alphas were relieved to find the police moved back and their van had been moved close to the door.  The boys quickly loaded Zayn in the vehicle and Louis hopped into the driver’s seat.  Paul had left a note on the steering wheel letting them know that Bus 1 would be waiting at the house when they got there.  Their families were also being relocated to a hotel so the alphas could choose where they wanted to take Zayn.  As soon as everyone was in the van Louis took off and started driving home. 

 

In the backseat, Liam and Harry cuddled Zayn in their arms, rubbing their hands over all the skin that they could reach.  They knew that without a knot they wouldn’t be able to pull the omega out of omega space, but they were hoping that the contact and comforting words would pull him closer to the surface. 

 

Niall was left with the job of easing the burning feeling they knew that Zayn was feeling.  With an unpracticed hand, Niall took Zayn and gently began stroking.  It took almost no effort to bring the omega to orgasm.  With the orgasm, Zayn keened, loud and long.  It seemed like the orgasm was physically painful, which it probably was considering what the omega had been through.  Niall was slightly shocked by how long and how hard Zayn came.  It was a beautiful sight.  Niall felt his own cock twitch where it was still trapped in his pants.  The blonde alpha pushed his own need away, focusing on the delicate omega in front of him.

 

Zayn’s life depended on them and their ability to mate him.  This was the moment that they had been waiting for since they discovered that Zayn was an omega.  They just wished that it wasn’t happening this way. 

 

Niall prayed that if Zayn survived, that he would forgive them for what they were about to do. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... again with another cliffhanger! And almost no smut! But prepare yourself... because that comes next chapter!! I have never written smut... (at least that wasn't rape, which I don't consider smut) so please be nice next chapter!! 
> 
> Leave me comments please!! I love them!! They mean so much!! Work has been stupid so I haven't had a lot of time to update so I need encouragement!! Let me know what you think!!


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Disclaimer*
> 
> I am very disappointed in myself for this chapter... so I am sorry. Please don't hate me too much. I hope you enjoy it anyway. 
> 
> My end notes contain some personal information, read it with caution. I do not want to trigger anyone or make you uncomfortable with real life situations.

Louis was tempted to fly through the city, weave through traffic and blow past all the infuriating drivers that were going the damn posted speed limit. Christ didn’t anyone speed anymore!? Louis was driven by his need to get the omega to safety where he and the other alphas could take care of him and ease the suffering that he was no doubt feeling. Tempted as he was though, Louis could not bring himself to drive recklessly. Zayn was precious cargo and he would not, could not, put him in danger.

 

However, when Louis heard Zayn come the first time he almost drove them all off the road before he could gain control of himself again. There was a brief moment where he was jealous and wished that he had made one of the other alphas drive. That moment passed quickly though; the feather haired alpha was the eldest and it was his job to care for them all; he is the one that needed to get everyone home. It was his responsibility.

 

“Nialler, you need to open him up. Remember what Dr. Gray told us when he was in the hospital the first time? We have to go slow and prep him well because of all the scar tissue,” Liam reminded.

 

“Me?” Niall gulped. Niall wasn’t a virgin; he knew his way around both male and female bodies, he knew what needed to be done. But this, this was different. This was _Zayn_. Zayn had been so hurt for so long, Niall was scared of doing anything else that could add to the trauma that he has experienced.

 

“Ni, you have the smallest fingers,” Harry held up his own hands to emphasize his point.

 

“He needs it,” Liam said sadly. Somehow it was those three words that crushed the blonde’s resolve. Zayn did need it; and Niall would go to his grave to give the omega anything and everything that he needed.

 

Niall took a deep breath before nodding. Liam and Harry moved the omega so that he was sitting on the seat between them; each alpha grabbed Zayn lightly behind a knee and pulled his legs apart so that they were resting over their own. The two larger alphas each wrapped an arm around the omega’s back and used their free hands to massage calming circles into his skin. They wanted to keep as much skin on skin contact as possible with Zayn, so their bare chests were pressed up against him as well.

 

Seeing that everyone was ready from his place kneeling on the floor of the van in front of the trio, Niall reached out both hands and placed them lightly on the omega’s belly. The skin there was hot to the touch; Niall imagined that if he looked hard enough he would be able to see the shimmering waves of heat rolling off Zayn’s body. Niall took a moment to brace himself, petting lightly over the omega’s stomach and trailing down to the creases where his inner thighs connected to his hips.

 

Harry watched in awe as Niall’s slim fingers moved slowly farther down. Harry himself reached out slowly and deliberately to grasp onto the omega’s hard and leaking shaft. Harry could hear Liam murmuring quietly into Zayn’s ear; he couldn’t make out the individual words but the tone was clearly comforting. Making eye contact with Niall, Harry mouthed the words, “I’ll distract him for you.”

 

The blonde turned his attention back to Zayn. He slowly ran his fingers between the omega’s crack, gathering up the slick there. Harry was slowly wanking Zayn and Niall could tell that he was almost ready to cum again. Taking another deep breath, Niall pushed in his first finger.

 

As soon as Zayn felt the intrusion, that sensation coupled with the feeling of the hand on his dick brought him over the edge. Niall could feel Zayn’s hole flutter around his finger. The alpha used the omega’s distraction as he was coming down from his orgasm to start moving his finger in and out, curling his finger as he did so searching for his prostate.

 

It only took seconds to find that small nub. Niall rubbed his fingers over that special spot and Zayn arched his back off the seat as he came again. The alpha decided that Zayn was ready for another finger and slowly slid it in next to the first. The skin was very tight, but Niall was gentle and firm, working slowly, he was able to work the omega up to three fingers by the time that they arrived at their home.

 

Just as Paul had said, Bus 1 had been moved and was parked in the garden. Their family members who had been residing in the house would also be gone by now. Louis shut off the engine and turned back to face the rest of the boys. It was a beautiful sight. Their omega being cuddled between Harry and Liam, with Niall kneeling before him, three fingers deep. Pearly white spunk glistened on Zayn’s chest and belly; some was still beaded on his tip.

 

Louis squeezed his eyes closed and shook his head to get control of himself. “Where are we going, the house or Bus 1?”

 

Without taking his eyes off Zayn, Harry answered, “Bus 1. When we need to clean up we can carry him into the house, but Bus 1 to start. That is what he referred to as home before and he hasn’t been in the house since before we left for the tour. Bus 1 will be more comforting for him, ease his nerves.”

 

The boys made quick work of wrapping Zayn up with Liam in the sheets. There was no one around, but they would take no risks. Liam, being guided by the other alphas again, carried the omega into the bus and onto the large bed in the back where he laid him down on the blankets.

 

Harry noticed a note on the counter next to a basket containing nuts, dried fruit, and crackers.

 

We really hope that Zayn is okay. We have done up some snacks and drinks in the fridge, there are towels and flannels set out for you. There if you go to the house there is a similar set up. Good luck, we know you will take care of him. Let us know when it is over. We love you all.

 

Harry checked in the fridge and sure enough, there were dishes of cut up fresh fruits, cheeses, and a variety of cut up turkey, chicken, and other salami meats that Zayn’s religion would allow him to eat that were full of protein that their bodies would need in a time like this. There was also an assortment of bottled water, juices and sport drinks to keep them and the omega hydrated. Harry smiled to himself for the first time in what seemed like forever, he was so thankful for their families; before grabbing a couple drinks and one of the bowls of fruit and following the rest of the lads to the bed.

 

Niall was sitting up against the headboard and Zayn had been positioned between his legs, his back pressed to Niall’s now bare chest. Liam and Louis were on either side of the omega, gently running their hands over his skin.

 

“Our families left food and drinks along with towels and flannels both in here and in the house. I don’t think that he will, but I thought that we should try to get him to eat and drink,” Harry explained.

 

Louis started to move off the bed, “I don’t know if he will either but we might as well try. He came a few times, so it has probably taken the immediate edge off his need.” In fact it was hard to tell how many times the omega had come since each time was long and followed closely by another orgasm. “While you do that I am going to get the first aid kit. I don’t want those cuts to get infected.”

 

Harry took Louis’ spot on the bed and uncapped a bottle of water, holding it up to Zayn’s closed mouth. Harry used his thumb to pull down the omega’s bottom lip just a hair and poured in a small amount of water. Most of it dribbled out, but Harry saw Zayn’s throat bob, and hoped that he swallowed a little of the water.

 

Liam picked up a small piece of pineapple and placed it on the omega’s tongue, encouraging him, “It’s okay Z. You need to eat something. Good boy.”

 

Louis had come back with the supplies needed to clean and bandage the wounds that wrapped around Zayn’s wrists and ankles. They weren’t deep but they were very bruised and the skin was worn raw. Louis was the eldest of seven children and his mom was a nurse, on top of that he had months of experience changing and dressing injuries when they first got Zayn back. He made quick work of taking care of the abrasions. Louis double checked the marks left from the too tight collar around Zayn’s neck and found that the area contained no cuts just some minor bruising and pressure marks that would likely last for a few hours before fading. Small victories.

 

Zayn was still working on the tiny piece of pineapple; Liam could see him trying to chew it but he was too out of it to do it properly. The alpha didn’t want the omega to choke so he tentatively reached a finger in and pulled out what was left of the fruit. “You’re a good boy Zayn. We will try again later; let’s get you a bit more water, yeah?”

 

“Lads, we need to start the bonding process,” Louis said quietly. “I know that none of us wanted it to happen like this… but we do it and we give him a chance to live. We can ask, beg, for forgiveness later; but if we don’t… we lose him forever.”

 

“Even if he never forgives us, I would be okay with that,” Harry said. “I wouldn’t blame him. I would rather he hate us and live, then love us and die.”

 

“Okay, this is it… there’s no going back now,” Niall sighed. To Zayn he said, “We love you. Somehow, someway, we will make this up to you. It is our only option Zaynie. I’m so sorry.”

 

“Let’s pick our spots, remember we have to bite him at the same time or the bond won’t work properly,” Liam reminded.

 

In a single alpha/single omega bonding, the alpha bites the omega while they are knotted together. For the creation of a pack, like the boys would become that was not possible as multiple alphas could not knot the omega at the same time or vice versa; the first alpha to knot and bite the omega would be the one bonded; the others after that would either be null and void, or they would break the first bond, it depended on loyalties inside the group dynamics.

 

For a pack to form with one omega and multiple alphas, the alphas had to bite the omega at the same moment. The next step would be each alpha knotting the omega and the omega then biting them on the same spot that the alpha marked them. The alphas bite started the bond, the knotting tied them to one another, and the finishing bite sealed the bond to each individual bite mark. Unlike single alpha/single omega bonds, in packs, all members are marked.

 

Too put it visually, in this pack, Zayn would be the center of a wheel and each alpha would be a spoke coming from the center. Each alpha would be tied to the omega, but the omega was tied to each alpha, thus tying all five of them together through Zayn himself.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

The four alphas moved the still barely responsive omega until he was laying on the bed and they were each positioned where they could mark their chosen spot.

 

Louis would place his mark directly over the scar that the alpha twins had left on the juncture of Zayn’s shoulder and neck. The scar was only noticeable now if you really looked for it, but he knew that Zayn saw it and was reminded of it every time he looked in the mirror. Louis wanted to claim that spot so that Zayn had a new memory associated with that spot, and to erase the mark left on him by those bastards.  

 

Niall wanted the spot on Zayn’s chest, right over his heart, just above his left nipple and below the feathers of the wings tattoo that stained his chest. Whether any of them knew it or not, Zayn had all of their hearts the moment that they all met. Niall firmly believed that was the reason that all of the alphas had always gotten along so seamlessly. It was like a part of them always knew that they would be together so there was no need for rivalry. Niall wanted the spot over the omega’s heart for his mark to signify that.

 

Liam chose Zayn’s right hip. His mark wouldn’t be seen all the time, but should Zayn so choose, it could be visible to flaunt. Liam had always loved the blocky black heart that was inked there. It was much better than the symbol that it covered up, it was much more fitting on the omega. Liam wanted his mark next to the image of love.

 

Harry didn’t want anyone but himself and his pack to be able to see his bond mark. As far as he was concerned, it was private and he did not have to have it visible in public to know that it was there. So Harry chose the inside of Zayn’s right thigh for his mark. The placement was sensual and Harry hoped that he would be able to re-bite it frequently in the future when he was getting ready to suck the omega into his mouth.

 

“Okay lads, on three,” Louis started.

 

“One.”

 

“Two.”

 

“Three.”

 

The alphas bit down at the same time, their teeth breaking through the delicate skin in sync with each other.

 

Zayn’s mouth dropped open and a moan tore its way from his throat. His body trembled under the alpha’s touch as they felt the threads of the metaphorical bond begin lacing them together. As their teeth pierced his skin, the alphas could catch glimpses of the feelings and emotions that were coursing through the omega’s body. In time, those would become clearer, and they would eventually be able to feel the shadows of the emotions of the other alphas as well.

 

The alphas sealed the bond marks before they pulled away completely, each of them focusing on the omega who was hard and leaking in front of them. His skin was flushed and even if they were not in the process of bonding him, they knew that he needed a knot.

 

“Lou, you’re the eldest, you should go first,” Niall said. “He is stretched enough.”

 

Louis felt a brief moment of panic before he got ahold of himself. He could do this, he would care for his, _their_ , omega. Louis made his way to kneel between Zayn’s spread legs; Harry took his place and folded himself over the omega protectively.

 

“We’ve got you Zayn, we will take care of you,” Harry whispered. “Louis is going to give you what you need.”

 

Louis ran his hands from Zayn’s hips, down his thighs and gripped him under his knees before slowly pushing them up. Niall and Liam held him as well, cooing words of encouragement and praise as Louis slowly entered the omega.

 

It felt wonderful. Zayn was so wet and tight, it was all Louis could do not to lose himself in the sensations. Normally alphas would when their omega was in heat, but this situation was different and it was imperative that none of them lose control. That knowledge kept Louis grounded as he began thrusting in and out, pulling almost all the way out, only his tip still emerged and then slowly grinding back in. Louis refused to go fast or hard, Zayn had enough of that in his life; this was going to be slow and sweet. Louis could not hold in his groans and sighs as he gently fucked Zayn.

 

It didn’t take long for Zayn to come all over his stomach again; the fluttering of his whole around Louis cock had his base swelling. Louis ground in deep for a few more moments before his knot popped, locking him in the omega as he began to spill. Zayn came again when he felt Louis’ knot expand inside of him.

 

While they were locked, the other alphas helped to sit Zayn up and Liam moved in behind him so that he could lean against his chest. Zayn was stated for a few moments so they tried to get some food into him again.

 

The knot seemed to bring the omega up from omega space just a bit; his eyes cleared and he looked around. It didn’t last long, but before his eyes glazed back over and they saw him go under again the alphas were able to get Zayn to eat a few pieces of fruit and swallow a few mouthfuls of water.

 

Before Louis’ knot could shrink down so he could slip out Zayn was in need again. Louis ground into him carefully, there wasn’t a lot of movement but there was some grinding, and Louis stroked him, running his thumb over Zayn’s slit at just the right moment to bring him release.

 

As soon as he could, Louis pulled out. Now it was time for Zayn to seal the bond.

 

“Zayn, darling, it’s time to finish the bond. You can do it sweetie,” Louis said as he leaned down and presented his neck to the omega. Zayn was just coherent enough to bite the alpha in the muscle between neck and shoulder with the encouragement of the other alphas. The feeling was beyond words for the pair. The bond was complete.

 

Within moments Zayn was in need again. It was decided that Liam would be next as he was already in position behind Zayn. The other alphas held Zayn steady while Liam lifted him up and slowly impaled him on his dick. The omega was in no shape to ride Liam, so the alphas had to do all the work, but it was so worth it.  

 

Zayn was so hot where he enveloped Liam’s length. Liam moaned and rested his forehead on Zayn’s shoulder as he gripped his hips and moved him up and down. Liam was tender, making sure not to grip hard enough to leave any marks. As far as the alpha was concerned, the omega has had enough marks left on his body to last a lifetime and Liam refused to leave any more on him unless it was specifically requested by the omega when he was in his right mind.

 

Liam angled the omega’s hips at a slightly different angle so that he could hit his prostate and he knew exactly when he had achieved just that. Zayn threw his head back against the alpha’s shoulder and let out a whine high in his throat.

 

“That’s it beautiful,” Liam grunted. “Cum for me.”

 

Right on que, Zayn came, long and hard. Liam fucked him through his orgasm; as soon as it seemed like he was done, Harry wrapped his long fingers around Zayn’s cock that was still hard and an angry red. Harry held his hand still as Liam moved the omega on his dick and through Harry’s hand.

 

Zayn came again when Liam’s knot locked them together. Again, Zayn’s eyes cleared and he was able to focus on the room around him.

 

“Harry? Nialler? Lou?”

 

“Yeah sweetie, we’re here,” Niall assured him.

 

“Liam?”

 

“I got you, Z. I got you.” Liam wrapped his arms around Zayn’s belly, rubbing his thumb over his hip where his new bond mark lay.

 

“Do you think you can eat anything?” Harry asked. When he received a nod from the omega, Harry took off to the fridge and brought back some meat and sports drinks for the five of them. Zayn laid there and allowed himself to be fed bits of protein and electrolytes to help him regain some strength. When Liam was able to pull out, he and Niall turned him over so that he was facing Liam so that he could complete the bond. It didn’t last long, only a few minutes longer than the first time that he came back to them. The omega’s eyes fogged over and they could tell that he had lost awareness of his surroundings.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Niall was next. The alphas got Zayn on his hands and knees. Niall wasted no time in entering the omega. Niall went hard and slow fucking into Zayn. Niall reached around and stroked Zayn, gripping him tightly. Zayn made the most beautiful sounds. When he came, his arms gave out and he fell down flat on the mattress. Niall lay himself down over the omegas body. Niall grunted loudly when he locked their bodies together.

 

Zayn came surfaced from omega space again. The alphas were hoping that once they were all bonded to him that he would surface from omega space permanently, and not fall back into it again, but only time would tell. Niall wrapped his arms around Zayn and pulled him off the mattress and up on his knees, being careful not to pull on his rim where he was still stretched around the alpha’s knot.

 

“I’m so tired,” the omega whimpered.

 

“I know little one,” Niall spoke directly into Zayn’s ear and kissing the soft spot just below it. “Just a little bit longer and we can get you cleaned up and you can rest.”

 

The amount of food that they had gotten down Zayn was minimal but still more than what he had probably had since he was kidnapped. This time they gave him some dried fruits and cheese bites along with water.

 

This time when the knot went down, Zayn twisted around on his own and latched onto the blonde alpha’s peck with only minor help from the alphas. Almost immediately after the bond was secured, Zayn fell back into omega space.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Harry was the youngest and saved himself for last. The alpha picked him up and carried him over to the wall of bus. He leaned Zayn against it and wrapped the omega’s legs around his waist. Harry was the largest of the alphas, so the stretch was rough, but Zayn was able to take him like a champ as slow as Harry went.

 

This time, Zayn back to the surface while Harry was moving inside of him. “Harder, please Harry. I need it,” he whined. So Harry did, fucking the omega harder than faster, pounding into him. Zayn could do nothing but hold on and run his fingers through the alpha’s curls, griping them in his fist as he came against Harry’s abs. It didn’t take much more for Harry’s knot to pop inside the omega.

 

Zayn’s eyes closed as Harry backed up to the bed again and sat down, holding the omega close to his body. “Stay awake sweetie, just for a little bit longer. Here, have another drink. Louis tipped the bottle to his lips and let him suck on it. “Good boy.”

 

When Harry could slip out, he could tell that Zayn was close to passing out; he was completely stated for now, and in desperate need for rest. Before that could happen, the last bond had to be finished.

 

Harry scooched back and allowed Zayn access to his thigh. The alpha cupped Zayn’s cheek as he guided him to the right location on his skin. Zayn’s eyes closed and his head bobbed forward slightly. “No, darling, stay awake. Just a few more minutes.”

 

With much encouragement from the rest of the boys who had gathered around, Zayn broke the skin on the omega’s thigh, thus completing the bonding process with all the boys. As soon as it was done, the omega fell unconscious, soothed by the bonds that were running through his veins, calming his nerves and warming his heart.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The boys carried Zayn into the house after that to get him cleaned up. Zayn didn’t whine in his sleep as the sheet was placed back over his head, but most likely that was because he was too exhausted to notice. Liam again held him in the shower while the others cleaned him. When the omega’s back, legs, and arms were cleaned, Liam handed Zayn over to Harry who gripped him under his legs with his chest to the omega’s back. The boys then cleaned off Zayn’s front, being gentle with his spent cock.

 

Zayn was still hard, but it didn’t seem like he was too uncomfortable. They put him to bed and curled up around him getting some much needed rest.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn’s heat lasted for another four long days. It would have been one thing, had the rest of the days gone as well as the first where they all bonded. But alas that was not the case. It seems that the boys were not able to catch even now.

 

The omega kept falling in and out of omega space throughout the heat. Sometimes when he came up, he was calm; a bit confused as to what was happening but not anxious at all.

 

Zayn seemed to be more aware of the heat that he was in as the bonds grew and strengthened. He would cry and beg for more as his skin burned and the need encompassed him. His need was almost insatiable, his penis never going completely flaccid even after several knots. Those were the times that were okay, they were workable.

 

Other times they were not so lucky. Several times Zayn came up from omega space agitated and in a panic. He would scream and cry and try to fight off the boys, lashing out with everything that he had. Zayn would scream ‘no’ and ‘please don’t hurt me,” and tears would run down his face. He would tremble in fear, and his voice would crack from the force that he was exhorting to yell and cry.

 

That was pure torture for the alphas. The bouts that were the worst were when Zayn came up when he was tied to one of the boys’ knots. He would wiggle and squirm, pulling at the knot painfully forcing the alphas to grip him and pin him to their hips to prevent him from hurting them or himself.

 

Niall was the first alpha to be brought to tears by the omega’s cries, but he wasn’t alone in that for long. Many tears were shed from all the alphas, for every tear that ran down omega’s cheek, four more ran down the alpha’s faces. The only thing that kept the alphas going was knowing that Zayn’s life was literally on the line.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The only way that the alphas could tell the Zayn’s heat had broken was when the omega went soft and he didn’t get hard again. After almost three straight weeks of being in heat, two weeks of which he had been subjected to unheard of torture, he was finally out of the clutches of heat, but there was one problem.

 

Zayn’s body still burned.

 

Dr. Gray arrived just thirty minutes after she received a call from Louis, leaving the alphas just enough time to clean themselves and the alpha and change the sheets. Zayn had fallen unconscious after the last knot and had yet to reawaken.

 

Louis meets her at the door and rushes her up to examine the omega. Dr. Gray did a thorough examination of the omega while the alphas bit their nails down to the quick, anxiety radiating through them.

 

“I have good news and bad news,” the doctor finally stated. “The good news is that you handled his heat well. There is no evidence that any of damage to his body that was done by you. You prepped him well. He is still malnourished and dehydrated, but that is to be expected. I can tell that you got him to eat and drink; he is better than he was when we got him from that damned bag. You have done a good job in caring for him. You are good alphas; I want you to remember that.”

 

The boys couldn’t accept the praise though. “What is the bad news?” Harry asked.

 

“His body is still reeling from the heat. The heat is over but because of how long it lasted, his body is treating it like an infection, and it has gone septic through his body. That is why he is still burning up. An omega’s body is built to withstand the high temperatures of a heat and they can still function when the body is feverish for days on end with no ill side effects.”

 

“But?” Niall pushed.

 

“But, this is unprecedented. His body can’t handle this sustained temperature for much longer. If the fever doesn’t break soon his dehydration will get worse and it could lead to brain damage, hallucinations and or seizures. He could also suffer internal damage to other organs like his heart, liver and kidneys.”

 

“Could this kill him?” Louis didn’t want to ask. He knew in his heart what the answer was, but he had to hear it out loud.

 

“If we can’t break the fever, and it continues like it is… yes. It could kill him.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off... I want to apologize to all of the fic writers who I internally chastised for saying how hard smut writing it. I would never call out a writer for crappy smut, or any bad writing for that matter, if I didn't like it then I don't have to read it and there is no reason to make a person feel bad about something that they worked hard on in their own time for the enjoyment of themselves and others. I am a horrible human being, but even I am not that horrible. 
> 
> That being said... smut writing is really hard. I will own that this is bad. Smut is suppose to make you want to have sex (or at least orgasm, at least in my opinion) and this did not do that for me. At all. I can blame it on having a migraine literally all day while I was writing this, but even if that was not the case this still would have been bad. 
> 
> The point in this chapter is suppose to be the feelings that accompany all the actions, not the smut itself. Let's face it, Zayn was not with it for most of this... and that is just not hot to me at all. So I didn't want it to be the point. 
> 
> I had it in my plan to put in actual smut later on; but after how hard this was and how shitty I view my writing of it to be I am not so sure. So I am going to leave that up to you, my readers. I have outlines of including a chapter of smut and of leaving it out entirely. If you want me to include it, I know that it will not be good and I will tell you why.
> 
> This is a bit personal and maybe TMI... but face it, you have all read way worse in this fanfic alone, not including what I know you have all read on this site before! lol!
> 
> I don't like sex. I associate myself as a gray asexual, but whether that is what I really am... according to the actual definition... I don't really know. I don't have an issue with orgasms at all. I don't mind watching or reading porn, I just don't want to participate in any of those activities with any other people. When I do have sex, it makes me feel nasty and used and uncomfortable. To me it is a form of self harm and in fact, during my darker periods, has taken the place of cutting or starving myself as a form of self punishment. I also don't believe that sex has anything to do with love. You can love a person without having sex, and you can have sex with someone without loving them, they are not mutually exclusive. Sex is one person overpowering another, controlling them, one person using another for their own enjoyment.
> 
> As such, I do not know my way around a penis. I will not touch them anymore, the couple of times I have touched them and given head I was sick to my stomach for days. What I know about sex is my limited experience what I have read in fanfiction. Not the most reliable of sources. So I really have nothing to go on, in creating smut. 
> 
> So please keep that all in mind when I ask you... do you want the smut chapter or do you want me to gloss over it? I would include an overview of what happens, but focus mostly on the feelings and not the actions if you don't want me to include it. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think... the next couple of chapters I will be staying in my own lane and writing drama and angst... that is where my true power lies. Speaking of that... has anyone been keeping count? How many times have I ended on a cliffhanger where Zayn could die? ;o)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you weren't as disappointed in this chapter as I was.
> 
> All the love!


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off... thank you so much for all the comments on the last chapter. I am still not happy with the last chapter; when I was writing it, I just didn't feel a connection to it. In the future I am hoping to go back through that chapter and see if I can add more 'me' into it. 
> 
> Everyone was pretty clear that it was up to me if I include any more smut into this story. I want to, just because I think that it is important to the story... but at this point I am still undecided. Thank you all for your encouragement and understanding. It means so much to me. 
> 
> Enjoy this update, it is shorter than what I usually post, and I am pretty sure that the next chapter is going to be pretty short as well, but I am hoping that you will like it!

“Why does he look worse now?” Louis inquired.  “When he came back from our break, back before we knew he was an omega, he had been tortured for three months and he didn’t look as bad as he does now.”

 

“An omega’s metabolism during a heat spikes to a point that betas and even alphas wouldn’t be able to handle.  The drugs that his father gave him, along with the remnants of suppressants in his system slowed his metabolism.  Which is a good thing, if he would have gone through that abuse without the drugs he would have died, there is no question.  This time without the drugs added to the fact that he was denied the ability to cum, his body was warring with itself and quite literally eating himself from the inside out.”

 

“How long?” Liam asked so quietly that the doctor almost didn’t hear him.

 

“What?”

 

“How long do we have until the effects of the fever become irreversible?”

 

“It is hard to say, but he is strong, if he wasn’t he never would have made it this far.  I would say that we have 24 hours to break the fever, the longer that it goes on after that the worse his chances are.”

 

“What can we do?” Niall asks. 

 

“I am going give him an IV for fluids to get him rehydrated, I also have some Motrin that I can give him intravenously that will hopefully lower his temperature a bit.  We should also get some ice packs and cool damp flannels to try and lower break the fever externally.”

 

“Okay, you start that and I will go get the ice packs,” Liam ordered.

 

“I’ll go get some flannels,” Harry said as he ran off to the loo.

 

 ~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn was so dehydrated that his normally prominent veins were shriveled and hard to find.  Dr. Gray missed his vein twice, but managed to make the third try stick.  She administered the medicine and started the omega on fluids.  She then removed the bandages that were still wrapped around Zayn’s wrists and ankles.  The cuts there had healed enough that they weren’t at risk of infection anymore. 

 

“Okay, the ice packs are going to have to be put on in shifts.  We don’t want to leave them on any patch of skin for longer than twenty minutes at a time at most, and then leave it off that area for 40 minutes.  You want them to be where the skin is thinnest so that his blood cools.  With any luck, the cooled blood flowing through his body will cool his internal organs and his fever will break.  So here is what I suggest… put ice packs on his ankles and wrists and the back of his neck.  Then trade them out for ice packs behind his knees and the crooks of his elbows, then on his groin and under his armpits.  Use the cold flannels over his eyes and forehead and over his core.  Do you have any questions?”

 

“No, I think we got it,” Louis advised.

 

“I will leave you with a couple bags of fluid and will show you how to change it.  He will need a dose of liquid Motrin every four hours.  I’ll show you the dosage and how to administer that as well.  I have to get back to my shift at the hospital.  Keep me posted on his progress.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The boys followed the doctor’s instructions and were vigilant to not let ice packs stay on longer than was healthy.  The last thing they wanted was to cause more damage to the omega’s body.  When they put the ice on the omega’s groin, they were careful that it not touch his penis or balls as the skin there was too delicate to handle the cold.  They were careful to only tuck the ice into the creases between Zayn’s thighs and hips.

 

The boys took turns wiping down the omega’s skin.  Niall positioned himself curled around the pillow that Zayn’s head.  He and the other boys felt the intense urge to cuddle up to Zayn and hold him close but they didn’t want their body temperature to affect his; so they lay as close to him as possible while only touching him with their hands.  Niall had his flannel in hand and tenderly wiped Zayn’s brow and cheek bones.  After a few moments he folded it and placed it over the sleeping omega’s eyes and let it rest as he ran his fingers through Zayn’s now shorn hair.  Niall didn’t really like this haircut on the omega; of course he still looked beautiful.  There was nothing that could make Zayn not beautiful, but Niall already missed the longer tresses.

 

Because of how much heat Zayn was radiating, they kept him naked, but placed a cool thin flannel over his groin for a sense of modesty. 

 

Louis and Liam had each taken flannels and were rubbing them down the omega’s chest and stomach.  The skin there was flushed and radiated heat, they had to keep wetting and ringing out the flannels in a bowl of ice water that Harry had fetched as the heat from Zayn’s skin kept warming the materials. 

 

Liam felt bad; the fever had given Zayn chills.  Zayn’s body was shivering lightly.  Liam ran his cloth over Zayn’s nipples, watching them harden.  He knew that the cold had to be uncomfortable, but it was for his best interest. 

 

Harry had retreated back to the kitchen.  All of the alphas were worn out; assisting an omega in heat was hard on an alpha’s body; and that heat was rough.  Most of the time Zayn was in need even when he was on one of their knots; there was very little rest.  Almost all of the food that Harry had been preparing while Zayn was missing had either been eaten or had spoiled, so the alpha set out cleaning out the fridge and then making something for his alphas. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The alphas ate surrounding Zayn.  There was no way in hell that he was leaving their sight.  Their family members had offered to come back to the house, to watch over Zayn while the alphas recuperated.  Karen had been the one to call Liam and ask.

 

Liam stood on the other side of the room, glancing at the sleeping form on the bed as he spoke quietly, not wanting to disturb the resting omega.  “Mum, I really appreciate the offer, _we_ really appreciate the offer, but I just don’t think that any of us can handle anyone around him right now.  After all that has happened…”

 

“It’s okay dear, we understand.  We all just wanted you lads to know that the offer stands.  We love you all so much,” Karen said tearfully.

 

“Thanks Mum.  We love you all as well.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Every two hours, the lads gently moved Zayn to one of their arms and taken to the shower.  Two of the boys would hold Zayn and rinse him off with cool water in the shower while the others made quick work of changing the sheets on the bed.  Between the dripping water from the ice packs and the flannels and the copious amount of sweat that the omega was exerting, the sheets and mattress pad had soaked through each time.  It was impossible to keep Zayn dry, but they wanted to keep him clean. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

 

The boys took turns napping in pairs around the omega.  There was always two of them awake and with him at all times, making sure that the ice packs were changed and his body was sponged down, and that he got doses of Motrin at regular intervals; but still the fever persisted.  Not only persisted, but seemed to flourish. 

 

The worry was tangible in the room. 

 

Dr. Gray came back the next morning.  It had been twenty-two hours since Zayn’s heat had broken.  The doctor did another examination and could not find any changes.  The omega was no better than the day before, but at least he was no worse. 

 

Dr. Gray sighed and said to herself, under her breath so that the alphas couldn’t hear, “You are fighting so hard to stay alive; but who are you fighting for?  Them or yourself?”

 

The doctor did not mean for the words to travel as far as they did.  Liam had stepped out of the room for the moment, but Louis, Harry and Niall were still standing by the door.  Dr. Gray hadn’t meant to be overheard; it was not a statement that was meant for the family of a patient.  Maybe if she had spoken just a little quieter or not spoken at all, maybe things would have worked out differently. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It was six hours later and Louis could not stop thinking about what he had heard Dr. Gray say.  Who was Zayn fighting to stay alive for?  Was he fighting for himself, because he wanted to keep living?  Or was he fighting for them because he wanted to be a good omega for his alphas?

 

Liam’s had left the room to take a phone call again.  Everyone was calling him for updates; he was after all Daddy Direction. 

 

Louis glanced away from the omega to eye Niall who was exchanging Zayn’s ice packs and Harry who was sponging down Zayn’s chest and belly.  Sweat was still pooling in the dips of the omega’s collar bones and under his rib cage at an alarming rate.  Louis loved the alphas, they meant the world to him, just like Zayn; but the alphas were soft, not weak; just soft.  Louis knew that neither of them would be able to do what needed to be done, though the alpha thought that they knew in their hearts what he was thinking.  By the contemplative and longing looks that they kept sending Louis, he believed that they were asking him to do what needed to be done. 

 

For Liam’s part, Louis knew that he would never agree.  Liam would want Zayn to fight and fight and fight, no matter what his motivation was.  If Louis followed through on what he was thinking about doing; he knew that Liam would never forgive him.  Louis thought that it was a risk that he would just have to take. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“Lads, can I have a few minutes alone with Z?”

 

Louis shared a loaded look with Harry and Niall before they both nodded.  Harry ran his fingers over the fuzz that covered the top of the omega’s head and ran it down his beard covered cheek before getting up and walking out of the door.  Niall leaned down and pressed his lips to the omega’s cheek bone and stayed there for a few moments breathing deeply through his nose to take in the sweet smell of omega.  Niall ran his hand down Zayn’s arm and squeezed his fingers before following Harry out the door, shutting it behind him. 

 

“Hey sweetie,” Louis cooed as he positioned himself next to Zayn and took up the flannel that Harry had abandoned.  “Just you and me for now okay.  I wanted to talk to you.  I don’t know if you can hear me… but I want to believe that you can.”

 

“You have been so brave, Zayn; braver than any of us boys could ever be.  And don’t even get me started on how fucking strong you are.  I… I’ve seen some of what was done to you.  From your parents to the alpha abuse that you suffered.  Then there was the pregnancy and media leaks.  Now this… Chloe… Staci… she was our friend.  She was your friend, and she hurt you so much.  Now we ultimately forced you to bond with us… even though you specifically said that you weren’t ready for that.”

 

Out in the hallway, Louis heard Liam talking to Niall and Harry, though he didn’t pay attention to what he was saying. 

 

“I have to be honest with you…I can barely handle everything that happened to you… and I didn’t live it; not by a long shot.  I cannot even imagine what it was like living that life in your shoes.  I just want you to know how proud of you we are.  When I look at you and see everything that you have overcome, it fills me with pride.  You could not be a better omega if you tried; I mean that with all my heart.”

 

Louis felt his chest tighten as he thought of a way to say what he needed to.  He had been thinking about it for hours, but it wasn’t enough time.  Louis didn’t know if he would ever have enough time for this conversation. 

 

“What worries me is what is motivating you to fight so hard to stay in this world.  Are you surviving for yourself or for us?”

 

Louis sighed and slid to his knees on the floor and clutched the omega’s hand in both of his own and rested his forehead on the bed.  The alpha fought back the tears that were brimming in his eyes.  Louis took a gulp of air and lifted his head to look at Zayn again, losing the battle with his tears as they dripped down his face. 

 

“We want you to live.  We would do anything not to lose you.  We just want you to be healthy and happy.  We want to keep you safe, to prove to you that we can protect you.  I know we have done a shitty job of it so far… but we can do better, I promise.  We want to have children; as many as you want; we want to teach our children to accept themselves and love everyone no matter what their gender or orientation is.  We want to give them the life that you were denied.  We want to grow old with you Zayn… and someday… someday years and years and years from now… we want to pass from this world into the next together.  You are so special to us Zayn, and we love you more than life itself.” 

 

Louis heard a scuffle outside the door, but trusted Harry and Niall to handle Liam. 

 

“But that being said, love, this has to be your choice.  You have to survive for you, not just for us.  I understand that you are so tired and that you hurt.  I want you to know that if you need to give up or if you want to because it is just so hard and hurts too much, that I understand.  I want you to know that it is okay.  It is not what I want… but it doesn’t matter what I want… or what Liam, or Harry, or Niall want.  It has to be what you want.” 

 

“No matter what Zayn, we love you.  No.  Matter.  What.  If you think that it is time to give up, it is okay.  None of us will ever look down on you for that.  We love you, and you are so strong and brave and nothing will ever change that.  You are such a good boy.”

 

Louis broke down in sobs.  He said what he needed to say, what all of the alphas needed to say.  Louis didn’t know if he would ever forgive himself.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Louis walked out the door and saw Liam sitting on the floor across the hall, flanked by Harry and Niall.  Tears were flowing freely down all of their faces.  As soon as the door opened the three alphas looked at the eldest alpha expectantly.  They took in his tear streaked face at the same time and horror shown on their faces. 

 

“You need to go see him now,” is all the blue eyed alpha could force out. 

 

Liam leapt to his feet and pushed Louis up against the wall, grinding his forearm into the smaller alpha’s throat. 

 

“I will never forgive you for this Louis,” Liam growled.  “I hate you!  I will never, ever forgive you!”

 

Harry and Niall could only watch in shock as Liam let Louis go and rushed into the room.  The sound of Liam falling to his knees was followed by his anguished cry.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update was really hard for me just for what was going on in real life for me since I last updated. Friday we had to put my dog to sleep on Friday. He was old and sick... and I know that it was for the best... but there is a whole in my heart that right now feels like it will never be filled. He was such a good boy. 
> 
> I also found out that someone had taken scissors to my hair without me knowing it and cut a large chunk of my hair out. I had to go get my hair all cut off... I don't like the cut at all, but there wasn't much that the stylist could do. She kept all the length that she could but they layers are so short... I know that it will grow out... but it still upsets me. 
> 
> So anyway, this has been an emotional few days for me. I really struggled with this chapter, I just hope that I did it justice. We are coming to the end of this story and I want it to end with a bang not a whimper. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed, please let me know what you think! Thank you all for reading! 
> 
> All the love!


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took longer than I expected... but here it is!! 
> 
> In case it is not readily apparent... this chapter starts off about half (?) way through Chapter 35 but is told by Liam's point of view as opposed to Louis' point of view. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Liam stepped out of the room when his phone started ringing.  He didn’t want to disturb Zayn even though the alpha wasn’t sure that he was aware of what was going on around him due to the fever and how deep he was in omega space.   

 

“This is Liam,” the alpha said as he descended the stairs and headed to the kitchen. 

 

“Mr. Payne, this is Detective Inspector Owens.”

 

“Oh, hello Detective Inspector, what can I do for you?”

 

“Dr. Gray contacted me and gave me an update.  She said that Zayn’s heat was over but that he was really sick.  Has there been any change?”

 

“No, not yet,” Liam sighed sadly.

 

“I’m very sorry to hear that.”

 

“Thank you, Sir.”

 

“I also wanted to give you an update on Staci.”

 

“You arrested her didn’t you?  We never asked when we got to the house…”

 

“Yes, yes we did, and I completely understand why you didn’t.  At that point Zayn was far more important.  I thought that since his heat was over that you would want to know what was happening.”

 

Liam nodded even though Owens couldn’t see him.  “Yes, what is happing with her?”

 

“We had gotten a tip from an employee at Tesco that said that Staci was there shopping.  A couple of officers responded to the location and identified her, she had died her hair blonde, but it was her.  They didn’t see Zayn anywhere, so instead of arresting her, they decided to follow her.  I was contacted when Staci arrived at the house.  We got a judge to sign a warrant and entered the house.”

 

“We arrested her and took her into custody.  She had been laying low; her picture was run on every newspaper and news station across the continent.  She finally ran low on food and decided to risk a trip to get groceries.”

 

“We found that vacuum cube in the basement and we called you.”

 

“Vacuum cube?  That thing has an actual name?” Liam asked.

 

“Yes, it is meant to be used in BDSM relationships.”

 

“We thought it was some sort of torture device that she had made herself.”

 

“No,” Owens said.  “Staci is in custody and will remain there until her trial.  She admitted to everything.  She knew that you lads killed her brothers, the people that she loved most in the world; her way of getting vengeance was to hurt the one think that you all love most.  Zayn.”

 

Owens heard Liam take a sharp intake of breath, “We caused this?”

 

“No, absolutely not,” Owens reassured.  “You all did what you had to do to save Zayn.  How Staci reacted to that is not your fault.  Don’t ever think that.”

 

“What all did she do to him?  Did she tell you?” Liam asked nervously.  He wasn’t really sure that he wanted to know what hell his omega had gone through, but he wasn’t sure that he could live without knowing either.

 

“She did.  Are you sure that you want to hear it?” The Detective Inspector asked.

 

Liam made his decision.  “Yes.”

 

“Staci knocked him out at the stadium and drug him out of the building in the rubbish bin that we saw on the camera.  Zayn was unconscious for the duration of the drive to the residence that we found him in.  She didn’t know how long he would be out and she didn’t want to have to knock him out again; the whole point was to have him feel the heat and have no reprieve from it, so she wanted him awake for as long as possible.  She chained him to a chair and cut off his clothing.  She left him like that until he woke up.  By that time his heat was in full force.  As we suspected, she used ice on his genitals to get the cock cage on him.  He was awake when that happened… he felt it.  She wanted to watch as he struggled with his need.  When he finally fell into omega space is when she moved him to the vac cube; he couldn’t fight back, he was far too out of it to stand any chance of getting away.  He was there for until we found him and you lot got him out. 

 

It took a few minutes for Liam to process all the information.  When he did, he couldn’t bring himself to comment on it anymore.  Instead he moved the topic on asking, “What is going to happen at the trial?  Will we have to testify?”

 

“No.  We have enough evidence against Staci to put her away for life.  Between the murder of Chloe and the kidnapping and torture of Zayn, she will never again see the light of day that much I can promise you.”

 

“Thank you so much Detective Inspector.  We really appreciate everything that you have done for us,” Liam said sincerely. 

 

“It is no problem,” Owens paused before continuing.  “There is one more thing that you should know.  Staci isn’t a beta.”

 

“What?  What do you mean?” Liam asked shocked.  They would have known if she was an alpha.  There is no way that they would have missed that. 

 

“Staci is an omega.  She has been on suppressants for years, just like Zayn was.”

 

“What?” Liam was completely dumbfounded.  “How…how did we not know this?”

 

“She worked in the hospital and changed her medical file to say that she was a beta.  She used prescription suppressants that are used on omegas that are too ill to handle a heat, that she stole from the hospital.  No one that we interviewed knew that she was an omega, she presented very late when she was in uni for nursing.  She kept it hidden all these years.”

 

“How could an omega do what she did to another omega?  I just can’t fathom it.”

 

“Neither can I, please keep me updated on Zayn’s progress.”

 

“We will, Sir.  Thank you again.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Liam made his way back upstairs and found Niall and Harry leaning up against the wall.  “Lads, what is going on?” Liam asked confused. 

 

“Lou wanted a few moments alone with Zayn,” Niall answered. 

 

Liam was too shocked by what Detective Inspector Owens had told him to find it weird the Louis had kicked the other alphas out of Zayn’s room, or the fact that they left.  All of them were hard pressed to leave Zayn’s side even for a moment, it made them all anxious. 

 

“I just got a call from Owens.  Staci was arrested and he also said that she was an omega!”

 

Liam’s outburst was met with shocked looks on the faces of both of the alphas.  Liam quickly updated the boys with all the details of Owen’s call.  When he was done, Liam looked at both Harry and Niall in turn before saying, “What did Lou want with Zayn alone?  He has been in there a long time.”

 

Harry and Niall shared a nervous glance, and visibly swallowed hard before looking back at Liam.  “He had some things that he wanted to tell Zayn,” Niall said carefully. 

 

“What kind of things?”  Liam wasn’t really expecting a response from either boy sitting in front of him.  Instead he tilted his head towards the door so that he could pick out the words that the eldest alpha was whispering inside the bedroom.  He had heard Louis murmuring quietly in the room but had been too focused on updating Harry and Niall to pay attention to what the words that were being said.  Now that he did, he wished that he hadn’t.

 

_“What worries me is what is motivating you to fight so hard to stay in this world.  Are you surviving for yourself or for us?”_

 

What was Louis saying?  What did he mean why was Zayn fighting?  Of course he was fighting for himself!  Why wouldn’t he be?  What did it matter anyway if Zayn was fighting to live for them or for himself?  It all had the same outcome.  Zayn needed to live.  He was strong, he could do this, Liam had faith in him.  Zayn loved them; Liam knew that Zayn loved them.  They, the five of them, were meant to be together… always.  It was fate!  How could Louis question that?

 

Liam felt a surge of anger mixed with worry jolt through his system and he was on his feet in a heartbeat.  Louis was confused… he just needed to talk to him, but before he could so much as take one step towards the door, both Niall and Harry were on their feet and blocking his entrance. 

 

“No, you have to let me in,” Liam started trying to move past his bandmates to get to the door.  “Louis doesn’t understand.  Zayn loves us… he wants to be with us… he will fight to be with us always!”

 

“Liam, I need you to listen to me,” Niall started trying to grab the brown eyed alpha, but he was not quick enough and Liam darted around him, shoving Harry out of the way in his haste to get through the door.  Harry recovered quickly and spun around behind Liam, wrapping his long arms around the alpha’s chest, pining his biceps to his ribcage, and pulling the alpha to a halt before he could reach the door. 

 

“No!  Harry!  Let me go!  I just need to explain!”

 

“Liam, love, you need to be quiet,” Harry urged directly in Liam’s ear.  “If you’re upset and cause a fuss it will upset Z… you don’t want that do you?  You don’t want to stress Zayn out.”  Liam immediately quieted but still tried to worm his way out of Harry’s clutches.  “Don’t struggle Li, don’t struggle.  Calm down.  It is okay, everything is okay.” 

 

“No!  No, it’s not okay!” Liam whispered on the verge of hysterics.  He was trying to stay calm for the omega, but he was hearing what Louis was saying and he was getting more and more frantic.  “Don’t you hear what Louis is saying?  It-it sounds like he is giving Zayn permission to die!  Like it is okay if he just gives up!  Zayn can’t give up!  What if he misunderstands!?”

 

Niall moved to stand in front of the restrained alpha and placed his pale hands on Liam’s stubbly cheeks, trying to get the larger alpha to look at him.  “Liam you need to listen to me now.  Zayn won’t misunderstand; Louis knows what he is doing.”

 

“But…!”

 

“No Liam.  Zayn has been through so much.  So much pain, so much hurt, so much torment, and he has been so strong.  He survived; he fought his way through all of that to end up with us.  Your right, Zayn loves us, and I have no doubt that is why he fought so hard.  But now he has to fight for himself.”

 

“But what if he doesn’t!?” Liam sobbed.  There were tears flowing freely down Liam’s cheeks.  He couldn’t believe that this was happening.  Why were Harry and Niall letting Louis do this?  Liam didn’t understand, it made no sense.  They were nothing without Zayn! 

 

“Liam!  Think with your head for just five seconds instead of with your heart!  We are Zayn’s friends, we are his bond mates!  We are not his captors or his controllers!  He is free to make his own decisions!  He needs to know that!  He has been forced to do so much against his will, we can’t be the ones to do that to him too!”

 

“He has to make the decision to live Liam,” Harry whispered.  “He has to do this for himself.  And if he chooses to die, if he chooses to leave this world… we have to respect that.  We can’t be the sole reason that he survives.”

 

Niall continued again, “He deserves better Liam, you know that.  He deserves to be happy and strong, and if he doesn’t think that he can have the life that he deserves then he should be able to leave it without feeling guilty.  We don’t want him to suffer anymore, and I know that you don’t either.”

 

“Why Louis?”

 

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what Liam was really asking.  Why was it Louis who was talking to Zayn and not any of them, and more importantly why they were not having this conversation together with the omega. 

 

“Louis has always been our leader, and besides do you really think that we could have that conversation?  Louis has always been the strongest of us,” Niall explained with tears in his eyes.  Liam felt Harry’s tears wetting his collar. 

 

Louis walked out the door and saw Liam sitting on the floor across the hall, flanked by Harry and Niall.  Tears were flowing freely down all of their faces.  As soon as the door opened the three alphas looked at the eldest alpha expectantly.  They took in his tear streaked face at the same time and horror shown on their faces. 

 

“You need to go see him now,” is all the blue eyed alpha could force out. 

 

Liam leapt to his feet and pushed Louis up against the wall, grinding his forearm into the smaller alpha’s throat. 

 

“I will never forgive you for this Louis,” Liam growled.  “I hate you!  I will never, ever forgive you!”

 

Harry and Niall could only watch in shock as Liam let Louis go and rushed into the room.  The sound of Liam falling to his knees was followed by his anguished cry.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... bet you thought you were going to get some answers to what happened with Zayn huh? Gotcha! Hahaha! Sorry to laugh at your pain... but I promise that the next chapter will answer all those questions! 
> 
> We are getting to the end! I am so excited! I love this story... but I am ready for it to be done now! My current outline has only 2 more chapters... then the epilog! My work schedule has been stupid, so I cant promise when I will update again... but it shouldn't be too long of a wait! 
> 
> Be sure to buy It's You tonight! And buy the PillowTalk remix with Lil Wayne! And pre-order Mind of Mine! Congrats to the boys on their Brit win yesterday!!
> 
> Also... don't touch the inside of a hot oven... it hurts. I melted a small section of my arm trying to get meatloaf out of the oven... So learn from my mistakes! lol!
> 
> As always... tell me what you think! Your comments give me life!! And of course they encourage me to post faster!! 
> 
> All the love!!


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it has been so long... this chapter was emotionally draining for me. I pictured this whole chapter in my head... but that was mostly what it was... just pictures and feelings. Trying to turn those pictures into words was a lot harder than I had originally thought it would be. 
> 
> Add that to spending most of my free time job searching and this got put on the back burner. So I'm sorry about that. Thank you to the people like ZeeThorn who have been motivational and supportive of me during this long break I really appreciate it. And thank you to the people who have been wonderfully irritated by my radio silence and expressed that in comments... I'm looking at you YouArexBeautiful! lol. 
> 
> Anyway... I hope you enjoy!

Zayn woke to a blinding pain radiating from the back of his head.  But that was nothing compared to the fire that engulfed his entire body.  It hit Zayn like a freight train, the knowledge of what was happening, of what his body was going through and suddenly he didn’t care about the pain in his head.  Oh god… he was in heat!  Zayn wasn’t ready for this.  He couldn’t do this… oh god! Oh god! Oh god!  What was he going to do!?

 

Zayn was still in control of his functions, but there was a devouring need building right behind his navel.  He was rock hard and leaking against his belly.  It was then that the omega noticed that he was naked.  He vaguely remembered taking off his shirt when he got into the dressing room but that didn’t explain where the rest of his clothing was.  Zayn looked around the room he was in; his vision was a little blurry around the edges, and it was dark; the only light in the room coming from a single bulb hanging from the ceiling by a set of stairs.  Zayn tried to turn around to see what was behind him but was deterred when he couldn’t move his arms. 

 

Zayn’s body was being overcome by the need of his heat and he could feel his mind beginning to slow.  No!  He had to stay aware… Where were the alphas?  Where were Liam and Louis, Harry and Niall?  Zayn knew that they wouldn’t leave him at a time like this… they had to of known.  Why couldn’t he move? 

 

Focus Zayn, focus!  It felt like his mind was trying to dig its way out of quicksand.  Zayn focused all of his concentration on trying to move his arms again.  When he again couldn’t move, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.  His arms were behind his back, he jiggled his wrists and heard a light jangling sound… oh god, his dick hurt so bad… he felt so empty… no!  Wrists… jangling… what could cause that?  Chains… yes… chains… that meant that his wrists were chained together behind his back. 

 

Okay, he was naked and his arms were tied behind his back, he was in a strange place and the alphas were nowhere in sight.  None of this made sense.  Why didn’t this make sense?  Oh god… slick… he was leaking slick… all over the hard wooden chair that he was sitting on.  Zayn tried to move his legs, but they wouldn’t move either.  He was chained to the chair as well.  If another alpha comes he will not be able to fight them… let alone get away!  That is why it is strange!  He is alone… he is in heat and there is no one around.  Where ever he is there are no alphas… Zayn breathed a sigh of relief.  If there were no alphas, he wasn’t going to be raped… but if there were no alphas that means that there would be no knots… he needed knots… or at least some way to get off! 

 

Since the boys had rescued him, Zayn had been doing a bit of research online and had read that other omegas can get themselves through a heat.  He just needed to focus his mind… what did he read?  Come on Zayn!  He could use his own fingers to reach that spot inside of him, and he could jerk himself off.  Zayn had never touched himself like that before, but he had touched the alphas that he was exposed to before… not inside of them, but he had worked their cocks with his hand.  It couldn’t be that much different to touch himself.  Easier probably. 

 

Zayn had never touched himself before because when he went into heat, the unfit alphas who had their way with him would never allow it.  He was only allowed to cum from them, their hands, their cocks, their mouths.  When he was on the suppressants he never felt aroused.  He didn’t think it was because the suppressants prevented arousal, he probably could have gotten aroused if he really wanted to, but he never had the desire to try it out.  The thought of doing anything sexual to himself would only remind him of his heats and that was something that he had desperately wanted to forget.  So this would be a new experience for him. 

 

The omega took another deep breath and prepared himself for his first self-touch.  Oh… wait… he was tied up… he couldn’t touch himself. 

 

Almost as if his body knew the conclusion that his mind was coming to ever so slowly, his body was hit with a new wave of heat and need.  His cock gushed more pre-cum, dampening his tip and belly.  Zayn couldn’t move and he needed something… anything… it hurt!  He felt so empty… Zayn’s mind fogged over and he screamed.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn didn’t know how much time had passed when he became aware of himself once again.  He didn’t know what brought him back to reality but he wished that it didn’t.  His head had been swimming on the edge of darkness.  It was like he was walking on the edge of a cliff in his mind.  On one side was light.  In the light there was pain and need and confusion.  On the other it was dark.  The dark held the unknown… it could be more pain, more need, more confusion… or it could just be oblivion.  Zayn was stuck in the grey area in between the two entities, in a kind of limbo.  Zayn could tell that his body was in pain and needed something, but he was numb to it, able to block it out a bit.  Zayn didn’t want to fall into the light or the dark… but what he wanted didn’t appear to matter much as he was shoved into the light against his will. 

 

The omega felt a stinging slap across his face when became aware again.  There was a figure standing in front of him.  It took him a few moments to focus his eyes, then a few more to understand what he was seeing. 

 

“Chloe?”

 

“Hello Zayn,” the redhead cooed.  “How are you feeling?”

 

“Chloe.  Chloe… I’m in heat… please untie me!  I need the lads!  Where are they?  Chloe!  It hurts so much!  Please help me!  Help me please!” the omega cried, unable or unwilling to stop the sobs and tears ripping themselves from his body.

 

“I know you are in heat Zayn.  This while room reeks of your stench.”

 

“Help me please!  Where are we?  Where are the boys?”

 

“They are not here, and I am not ready to untie you yet.  I have big plans for you Zayn, but first… we have to take care of a little problem that you have,” Chloe chastised. 

 

Chloe walked closer to the restrained omega and showed Zayn what she was holding in her hands.  There was a bowl of ice water and flannels along with some kind of metal contraption that Zayn had never seen before. 

 

“Chloe… please… I need… it hurts… empty...” Zayn was losing his ability to speak coherently.

 

“I know what you need, Whore.  This is going to make it all better.  You need to cum; you feel right on the edge… all you need is a little nudge.  I am going to take that away,” the redhead said pleasantly. 

 

Zayn didn’t know what caught his attention more, Chloe calling him a whore or saying that she was going to take away his need to come.  “What? What are you talking about Chloe?”

 

“I’m talking about hurting you Zayn.”

 

“What?  Why?  Chloe, we are friends!”

 

“My name isn’t Chloe.  It is Staci.  My brothers, you remember me telling you about my brothers?  Their names were David and Dillon.  Ring any bells for you, you little slut?  It should since your fucking alphas murdered them!  They cut off my brother’s knots and let them bleed out like cattle in a slaughterhouse!” Chloe or Staci spit out.  “So I thought to myself, what would be the best way to hurt those fucking alphas?  Then it came to me, especially after seeing you all in the hospital.  If I hurt you, I hurt them.  You know I killed my best friend to take her identity to get close to you.  It was a shame, but it had to be done.  But anyway… here we are.”

 

Zayn was having a hard time focusing on what was being said by the redhead.  He couldn’t really understand all of what was going on. 

 

It seems that Chloe/Staci was finally done talking.  She took a hold of the bowl of ice water and upturned it right in Zayn’s lap, the ice bouncing roughly off Zayn’s penis which quickly shriveled as the cold water gushed over his burning skin.  Zayn screamed as loud as his lungs would allow.  The pain was unbelievable; Zayn imagined that he could see steam rising up from his body.  Tears poured down his face and Zayn tried in vain to escape from the horrendous pain.  Zayn didn’t even notice the bruises forming on his wrists and ankles from the chains binding him to the chair. 

 

The omega felt like he was close to blacking out, in fact he wished for it just for the pain to be over.  He jerked again when his friend turned captor wrapped an ice pack around his penis and squeezed.  A few minutes later, Zayn is a trembling mess and the redhead removes the ice and quickly slides a metal u-ring under his balls.  Zayn loses focus at this point and is only pulled back when a metal sheath is pushed over his cock and a metal lock is clicked into place.  It pinches and it hurts, and during all of this the need that Zayn has been feeling is only growing. 

 

Zayn falls back into the grey place, teetering between light and dark.  The omega knows what the light holds for him.  He willingly falls into the blackness inside his own mind. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Fire.  That is the only thing that Zayn is aware of.  His senses are completely overtaken by black fire that seems to be incasing his whole body.  It is scary and overpowering.  Pain radiates through his body.  He is burning, he wishes for death to take him.  Every moment that passes he is unsure how he has survived. 

 

After what seems like years, but is probably only hours, the impossible happens.  He thought that his body was burning before, but somehow it gets worse.  Zayn is not really aware of what is happening, but suddenly he feels pressure squeezing his already overheated body.  It is coming from everywhere all at once.  He couldn’t move much before, but now he cannot move at all.  The pressure makes it hard to breathe, and the temperature is increasing.  The fire is burning hotter and hotter.  Death is the only absolution that Zayn can hope for now.  Nothing that his body has been through has been this bad. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Eons pass.  Zayn feels like a balloon caught in a hurricane.  He feels no sense of self, there is nothing grounding him to the real world.  He is floating in a whirl wind of blackness, knowing nothing but tight, encasing pressure and fire.  Zayn’s mind is consumed with blackness that is only broken by black flames that lick at his consciousness.  Zayn cannot fathom reality; there is nothing more in the universe than fire and pain.  Is this what death is?

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Without warning the pressure surrounding Zayn ceases.  The omega was left disoriented.  Zayn was jarred from the darkness when he felt blinding pain in his arms and legs, but quickly retreated back into the darkness of his mind trying to escape all of his physical pain.  On the very edge of his consciousness the omega could vaguely sense comforting touches that cooled his overheated body, and eased his suffering, if only marginally.  Zayn attempted to ignore the feeling; he had been suffering unimaginable pain for so long, he had almost built up a resistance to it.  If he felt comfort now and it was taken away… he didn’t know how he would survive.  As much as he wanted to die to be free of this torture, there was a small piece of him that was still fighting to live.  

 

That small survival instinct was brought out further when Zayn felt icy rain dripping down his body.  He was torn between craving more because it dimmed the black flames rippling over his body and wanting to escape the sensation because hadn’t he been through enough pain already?  Pain was the only thing that he remembered; it was the only thing he knew. 

 

Zayn became slightly aware of his physical surroundings in time for a dark shadow to encompass his head and he couldn’t have prevented the whimper that escaped his throat if he had tried; which he didn’t.  Zayn let himself sink into the blackness again at the gentle rumbling and vibrations that he felt against his chest. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The next thing that the omega became aware of was what could only be described as a release of the pressure that had been building up inside of him.  For a few blissful moments Zayn felt nothing but pleasure.  There was no burning fire, no pain, no darkness; only a sense of release and peace.  It didn’t last long though, and soon the black flames were lapping through his body again.  But the peace came again, and again after that.  After each release of pressure Zayn could feel more of his body’s sensations.  He became aware of areas of his body that were experiencing friction and he felt filled in a way that was not uncomfortable.  The omega didn’t know what was happening to him, but he couldn’t bring himself to want it to stop. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Suddenly the omega’s senses filled with color.  It was like a rainbow exploded inside of him, fighting off the black flames and consuming him entirely.  There was a pressure and release like he had never felt before that ripped through his body.  There was so much color and so much brightness it was a little disorienting but at the same time there was something familiar.  Zayn couldn’t grasp what it was, but it was like there was something that he knew but had forgotten in that burst of color and light.  He wanted to know more. 

 

The rainbow didn’t last for long though, and soon the blackness was creeping back into his senses.  Just when Zayn thought that the blackness had taken over, there was a spark of blue.  It started off a dark indigo and gradually began to lighten and brighten.  The color surrounded him.  It was so familiar… it reminded him of something.  Eyes.  Blue eyes.  Eyes that would change shade depending on the mood of their owner.  Slowly a picture began to form in Zayn’s mind.  Curved eyebrows, feathery caramel colored hair, and thin lips over a wide happy smile.  Collar bones that hollowed just so… strong arms, narrow waist and well-muscled legs.  A stag, a compass, a spider web… there are more flashes of what can only be more tattoos littering the figure’s body. 

 

Louis.

 

Zayn remembers.  Louis; his bandmate, his friend, his partner in crime.  Zayn can see him. 

 

The omega’s instincts take over as a patch of skin is brought to his mouth.  Zayn bites down and as he does, the blue flashes and seems to sink into his bones.  He feels protected.  He feels love.  He remembers, how could he have forgotten.  Tranquility settles the omega before the black takes over again. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The blackness didn’t stay for long.  It was soon replaced by shades of burgundy, then maroon, then brightening to red.  This is familiar too.  Again flashes of a figure.  Chocolate brown eyes, bushy eyebrows, hair that changes from straight to curly, to buzzed, to Mohawk, to quaffed like some sort of hair evolution.  Plump lips over a slight under bite.  A light tan colored birthmark.  Defined abs.  Chevrons; four black chevrons. 

 

Liam. 

 

Zayn can picture him.  He remembers him.  Liam always took care of him, always so responsible and caring. 

 

The omega’s vision cleared.  He saw more figures… but it could be a dream, he isn’t sure. 

 

“Harry?  Nialler?  Lou?” Zayn said in confusion.  He remembered them but couldn’t believe that they are here. 

 

“Yeah sweetie, we’re here,” Niall assured him.

 

Liam… where was Liam.  Zayn could sense him in the reds that clouded his mind but he couldn’t see him.  “Liam?”

 

“I got you, Z.  I got you.”  Liam’s voice whispered.

 

“Do you think you can eat anything?” Harry asked.  Zayn didn’t know how to answer that but felt his head nod up and down.  Fingers were then bringing small bites of food up to his mouth.  The omega couldn’t tell what they were and wasn’t completely sure that he wasn’t just imagining all of this.  Nevertheless, Zayn chewed and swallowed the food that was provided.  When he was moved and another patch of skin was brought to his mouth, the omega bit it without question, not knowing why or what the significance was but doing it anyway because it felt right.  The darkness came for him soon after. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

White.  White was the next color that invaded the omega’s mind.  It was immediately bright, just like sunshine.  It made Zayn feel an initial jolt of joy, which felt so foreign.  The flashes of a person, a boy came quicker this time.  Blonde hair with dark roots.  Sky blue eyes, with a yellow ring around the iris.  Crooked teeth, that morphed with braces until they were straight and white, flashing a brilliant smile.  Pale skin, a boisterous, infectious laugh.  Calloused hands with fingers flying over guitar strings. 

 

Niall, the white colors are Niall.  Easy going, fun loving Niall.  Niall would never hurt a fly. 

 

Zayn feels exhaustion deep in his bones.  The colors are soothing, but he is so, so tired.  He doesn’t know how much longer he can stand this.  He never realizes that he expresses his tiredness out loud and he doesn’t hear any response back.  Without consciously deciding to, Zayn’s body seeks out the source of the white and his teeth latch onto skin.   The blackness takes over again.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The last individual color Zayn becomes aware of is green.  Green eyes, chocolate curls, a wide smile surrounded by dimples.  A slow deep voice.  Tattoos and long lanky torso and legs, slightly inward facing toes.  Images of Louis trying to teach him how to braid the long curly hair.

 

It is Harry.  Of course it is Harry. 

 

For the first time Zayn becomes aware of what the cause of his body’s pleasure. 

 

“Harder, please Harry.  I need it.”

 

Pleasure explodes through the omega and he is hit with another wave of exhaustion.  He wants to sleep, to rest; he wants the burning to stop forever.  He just wants to be with the boys who he now realizes are all around him.  Zayn hears gentle coaxing trying to keep him awake.  It is so hard but he does it.  For the last time a patch of skin is brought up to his lips and again he bites down.  This time the rainbow colors are back, not just the green that he expected.  He feels a tether form and attach him to the four alphas surrounding him.  Finally he is allowed to rest. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The black fire still burns within the omega, but he doesn’t feel like he is floating lost now.  He feels slightly grounded, and can sense the alphas around him, holding him together, but with that tender grip on reality Zayn is haunted by memories that he cannot erase.  There are terrifying images of strange alphas pinning him and hitting him, berating him.  He begs them to stop, he cries out in pain in fear, he even tries to fight them off but it is to no avail.  It is scary and terrifying. 

 

At other times Zayn wakes up and knows that it is the boys around him.  He understands that they have mated him and that he is in heat.  Zayn feels the need for them to knot him and he begs for it.  This is what is right, this is what is natural.  He is an omega, and they are alphas that have claimed him.  They love him and knotting him is their way of showing him that, of proving it; and he craves it.  He needs it, and what is more… he wants it. 

 

The boys are gentle with him, he can hear them whispering to him and caressing his skin.  Zayn can tell that they are being as tender as they possibly can, easing their knots into him so as not to cause him any pain or discomfort. 

 

The boys bring Zayn food and drinks.  Zayn is so hungry and thirsty, but he is so tired and his body is craving pleasure more than anything else, so it is hard to eat, but he tries for his alphas.  He does the best he can. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

After what seems like forever, the omega feels the need that has been coursing through his body dissipate and he falls into a peaceful slumber.  It is complete darkness, but no longer scary and all consuming.  It is still hot, but finally he can rest easy. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn doesn’t know how much time has passed since he was last aware.  He had been having what he could only assume was vivid dreams and he wasn’t sure what was real and what was just his imagination.  He remembers the boys, and mating.  He remembers feeling cold packs pressed to his skin and being held in the rain.  He remembers hearing the boys cry and beg for him to be okay. 

 

Zayn can’t bring himself to move, he is very tired and his body is achy and stiff.  He can feel his head pounding and knows that if he tries to open his eyes it is going to hurt. 

 

Wait.  He can hear someone talking.  The voice is high and it sounds like it is fighting off tears.  It’s Louis, but what is he saying? 

 

_“What worries me is what is motivating you to fight so hard to stay in this world.  Are you surviving for yourself or for us?”_

 

What does Louis mean?  Is he fighting?  Maybe he has been without even realizing it.  Maybe that is why he fought so hard against the pain that his body has been subjected to.  Why has he been fighting?  Of course he has been fighting for the boys.  Deep down he always knew that they had a connection and that they loved him.  He knew it, he could tell, but he didn’t want to believe it.  He didn’t want the knowledge to hurt him. 

 

But Zayn realized… it ran deeper than that.  He wanted to be happy and content; safe.  Zayn wanted to live so that he could experience that again.  It was a feeling that he hadn’t had since childhood. 

 

The omega could hear Louis crying now, the alpha was no longer even trying to hide it as sobs wracked his body. 

 

It took a few tries, but Zayn slowly opened his eyes and observed the bowed head of the feather haired alpha.  Zayn inched his hand over until he could card his bony fingers through the locks.  Louis looks up with a start and a sharp intake of breath when he feels it and his eyes grow impossibly wide.  For possibly the first time ever Zayn sees Louis virtually speechless. 

 

Louis leans forward quickly and places a soft kiss on the omega’s forehead before striding quickly to the door. 

 

“You need to go see him now,” Louis said.

 

Zayn heard someone scramble to their feet before seeing Liam push Louis up against the wall, grinding his forearm into the smaller alpha’s throat. 

 

“I will never forgive you for this Louis,” Liam growled.  “I hate you!  I will never, ever forgive you!”

 

Liam then leapt away from Louis and rushed into the room.  He stopped as soon as his eyes landed on the omega who was staring at him in shock.  Liam let out a shocked cry then fell to his knees. 

 

Harry and Niall rush in after Liam and are met by the same sight that brought Liam to his knees.  Zayn is awake!  They felt their hearts swell and they rushed to the omega’s side but didn’t touch, they weren’t sure how Zayn would react to that.  Liam can’t bring himself to stand by himself, his knees are too shaky but he does crawl over to use the bed to push himself to his feet. 

 

The alphas can do nothing but stare at the omega with various looks of shock, awe, and happiness on their faces.  Zayn can only look between the four of them.  Finally he brings his arms up and holds them out, silently requesting comfort.  He isn’t sure which alpha he wants, probably all of them.  Luckily they seem to understand that.  All four alphas gather around the omega as silent tears fall down all their cheeks. 

 

For the first time in a long time, the tears are of joy and not sorrow. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise that the next chapter will not be the same scene from another boys point of view... I am kind of sick of writing the same thing over and over again... but I felt like Louis, Liam, and Zayn's points of view were really important. 
> 
> For some of you the next chapter will be the last... for others there will be two more, because of how I am ending the epilog I know that all the readers will not read it... and that is okay. I just want to say how much I appreciate all of you. This story never would have made it this far without out. 
> 
> Let me know what you think! 
> 
> All the love!


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here it is... I hope you enjoy!!

None of them are sure how long they stay there, crowded into a pile of knees, elbows and tears.  The alphas could not seem to take their hands away from the tiny omega, continuously running their hands over the soft bristles of his scalp, down his hollow cheeks, across the jagged edges of his body where bones and joints stood out grotesquely.  It didn’t matter to them what the boy at the center of their puppy pile looked like right now; he was still the most beautiful creature that they had ever laid their eyes on.  What’s even better and the real reason that they can’t keep their hands off the omega is that his skin is no longer burning, just pleasantly warm and only slightly tacky. 

 

They are drawn out of their reverence by Zayn saying in a quiet parched voice, “May I have some water, please?” The alphas startle for a moment, looking lost and dazed before they jump into action and frantically start darting around the room.

 

“Of course Zayn!  You must be dehydrated!”

 

“And starving!  I’ll go get some snacks!”

 

“I’ll make tea, too!”

 

“No!  He needs water, and electrolytes!  Not caffeine!”

 

“But tea is calming!  Good for every situation!”

 

“No tea, Louis!”

 

“Fine!  I am still making tea!”

 

“Zayn, what do you want to snack on?  Never mind, I’ll just bring everything!”

 

All four alphas rushed at the door, Louis in the lead, when suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks, the other three running into his back and almost knocking the smaller alpha on the floor had he not reached out and caught himself on the door frame in time.

 

“Louis!  What’s wrong!?”

 

Louis slowly turned around and looked at Zayn.  The omega was silently watching the commotion with a look of thinly veiled amusement sparkling in his eyes.  Zayn couldn’t help it, they had just been running around like cartoon characters.  He loved these boys so much. 

 

“I can’t leave him,” was all Louis could say before making his way back to the bed and grabbed the water bottle that had been sitting on the nightstand the whole time.  Louis gently lifted the omega’s head and placed it in his lap.  The alpha carefully placed the bottle to Zayn’s lips and tipped it up, trickling a thin stream of water down his throat. 

 

Silently, Harry made his way back to the pair and squeezed Zayn’s hand while placing a kiss to Louis’ temple.  He then lead Liam and Niall down to the kitchen where they quickly gathered several types of snacks and drinks (including a pot of tea) to take back to the couple upstairs. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Dr. Gray arrived at the house later that day and provided Zayn with a clean bill of health aside of being severely underweight and malnourished.  The infection was gone from his body and there was no permanent damage.  Zayn would have to undergo several follow up exams to ensure that there wasn’t any damage that was underlying and currently undetectable. 

 

Zayn wasn’t able to get out of bed by himself for several days after he woke up.  He was too weak to move much on his own.  The boys stayed with him at all times, tending to his every need.  They took care to stretch the omega’s muscles and joints for him.  His body was so stiff and weak that the alphas had to maneuver his limbs for him.  It was painful for Zayn and the only thing that got him through it was the encouraging murmurs that were cooed into his ears by the alphas.  Their families were allowed back in the house, but the alphas were too protective to allow any of the parents or siblings closer than the bedroom door.  The families were diligent about bringing assortments of food and drinks to the boys so that they never had to leave the omega’s side. 

 

Zayn spent the first few days alternating between sleeping and being fed by his alphas.  The omega refused to say a lot during this time, but clung to the alphas.  Zayn wanted physical contact with each of the alphas at all times.  It was so different from how he was after his first rescue.  The alphas were surprised but not at all ungrateful. 

 

For Zayn’s part he remembered what he was like all those months ago after he was saved from the alpha abuse.  He remembered that he didn’t want to be touched and was fearful of the alphas that surrounded him now.  The difference was astounding.  The only thing that Zayn could link the difference too was the bonding.  Zayn felt this connection to each of the boys that he didn’t feel before.  He felt safe with them.  He felt protected.  He could feel their love for him and believed that they would not allow him to come to harm again.  It was the most peace that Zayn had felt since he was a child. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“Sweetie?  Do you want to try to get up? Walk around the room a little bit?” Liam asked.  Zayn looked up at him apprehensively. 

 

“It’ll be good for you,” Niall coaxed. 

 

“You need to build up your muscle mass, darling,” Louis reasoned.

 

“I’m scared,” Zayn whispered.

 

“Oh love, we will be right here, we won’t let anything happen to you.  We won’t leave your side,” Harry reassured brushing his fingers down the omega’s face. 

 

Zayn nodded his head after considering all of their words.  With the alpha’s help Zayn was able to get out of bed and walk around the room.  And so the physical healing began. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The next several weeks, Zayn healed, ate and regained the muscle mass that he had lost in his captivity.  During this time he also suffered from horrific nightmares of darkness and black flames leaping up his body.  The first night terror had the omega screaming and thrashing in the alphas arms in the middle of the night. 

 

When they were finally able to wake the trembling omega, his wild eyes flew open and he began shouting hysterically, “She was my friend!  She hurt me!  Why did she hurt me?  She was my friend!”

 

It took all of the boys an hour to get the tears to stop flowing and to calm the omega enough to ease him back to sleep.  It was heartbreaking, but they couldn’t protect Zayn from this pain.  It was something that he would have to work through.  It didn’t make it any easier. 

 

Through a process of trial and error, Liam came up with a process that helped to calm Zayn when he woke up from the bad dreams.  Liam found that Zayn was very sensitive in the area on the back of his head at the base of his skull.  The alpha would massage his fingers into the flesh lightly.  It didn’t take long to figure out that the spot relaxed the omega almost instantly.  Zayn would melt into the touch and his eyes drift close and he would soon be snoring quietly.  Sometimes the alphas would hear him softly purring in his sleep. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

One thing that was an ongoing stressor for all of the boys was that although they were mated to Zayn, the omega was not ready to have sex with any of the boys.  They spoke extensively about the mating and Zayn assured all the boys that he wasn’t angry about being mated, and in fact he actually felt a sense of peace regarding the situation.  Zayn was convinced that he felt safer with the four alphas than he had ever felt in his life, but regardless of that, the sexual trauma that he had sustained made him leery to have sex again. 

 

The alphas were not concerned with this for themselves.  They didn’t want to do anything to make Zayn feel uncomfortable, especially after everything that he had been through.  They were all stressed by the fact that now that Zayn had a heat, he was sure to have another one.  No one could determine when his next one would be, but one thing was certain… there would be another one.  Zayn would not be strong enough to go through it alone and the boys couldn’t bring upon themselves to help him through it when they knew that wasn’t what he wanted when he was in his right mind. 

 

Together, the five of them along with Dr. Gray came up with a plan. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn’s heat started six weeks to the day after his last heat ended.  Liam was prepared and as soon as he smelled the sweet enticing fragrance, he raced to the loo where he had stored the syringe, then skidded back to the omega’s side and injected the needle into the outside of Zayn’s thigh. 

 

The in a matter of moments Zayn felt his mind clear of the fog that was quickly taking over.  Harry placed a pillow on the omega’s belly and then placed a sheet over his lower half.  It didn’t take long for Zayn to complain about his nipples being too sensitive with his shirt rubbing against them.  Louis and Niall carefully peeled the offending material off of the omega. 

 

The drugs numbed Zayn from the waist down; his body was still heated, and he got hard.  The alphas attempted to keep his body heat to a manageable level with ice packs during the heat.  When the pressure built up enough his body would ejaculate, but the overwhelming pain was absent and Zayn didn’t feel any of it.  It was the omega’s idea; he remembered Dr. Gray talking about the drug when he was first saved. 

 

What none of them predicted was Zayn’s reaction to the drug’s effects. 

 

“I don’t like this!  It feels wrong!  I don’t like it, I changed my mind… make it stop!” Zayn cried out with tears raining down his cheeks. 

 

“Sweetheart, sweetheart,” Louis soothed.  “We talked about this.  Remember?  The drug won’t wear out until your heat is over.”

 

“No, no, no,” Zayn whimpered through his tears.  “I don’t like this!  It doesn’t feel right!”  Zayn shook his head back and forth and tried to reach out and clutch at the alphas surrounding him, but his motor skills were impacted by the drugs and all he could do was flop his arms against the bed. 

 

“It’s okay love,” Niall reassured leaning down to run his fingers through Zayn’s grown out tresses.  “It’s all going to be okay.  We are here, you’re safe, and your body is physically fine.”

 

The omega quickly became overcome with the amount of alphas around him.  When he continued to be agitated, the alphas decided to take shifts in pairs.  Two alphas would stay with Zayn to keep him calm and the other two would stay downstairs.  This was as much for Zayn as it was for them.  They were exhausted and the stress from watching Zayn so upset was eating away at them. 

 

The heat lasted for six days.  When it was over Zayn decided that when it came again he didn’t want the drug.  He wanted his alphas.  The alphas decided, with Zayn’s consent that they would re-bond him.  They wanted something that Zayn would remember and that would mean something good to all of them. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

By the time that Zayn’s next heat came, seven weeks later, the omega was up to a healthy body weight and had begun working out with the alphas during training sessions with Mark.  Zayn was still the smallest of the group and couldn’t handle a complete session in one go like the others, but his physically health had greatly improved.  Dr. Gray had agreed that he was physically healthy enough that in her opinion Zayn would be able to go through his heat normally with his alphas. 

 

Since there was no telling when Zayn’s heat would begin, they couldn’t make it as romantic as they would have liked, but they did the best they could with the little notice that they had.  From the first scent of heat, until Zayn was a begging mess of need, the alphas had about twenty minutes to set up candles and sprinkle rose petals that they kept fresh on hand for this specific occasion, around the bedroom.  It wasn’t a lot but they wanted to create a beautiful relaxing atmosphere for Zayn. 

 

From there, during the seven days of burning need that the alphas experienced with Zayn, they were sure to praise him at every opportunity.  Words of encouragement and love were whispered into his skin, along with gentle touches and strokes.  The alphas were careful to not leave any evidence on Zayn’s skin.  The memory of bruises littering the omega’s beautiful body was still too fresh in their minds.  Maybe in the future they would be able to stomach kissing marks with their lips across the omega’s collarbones or fingerprints on his hips, but not now… it was still too soon. 

 

When the pack re-broke open their bond marks, they felt a sense of euphoria.  It was like they had all come full circle; it was a better experience than the first time.  There was no dread or fear in the action.  Zayn was safe and happy.  That was all that mattered. 

 

They knew that they could make it through anything.  They had each other; now and for always. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

_One Year Later_

 

“Zayn, are you sure that you want to do this?” Liam asked for possibly the hundredth time since they got in the car almost four hours prior. 

 

The boys were set to head to Australia in three days; they had put out another number one album a few months prior and in anticipation for that had organized a world tour spanning 48 countries on six continents.  The tour started in a week and they would be on the road for the majority of the next 10 months.  It was going to be grueling, but Zayn was excited.  As much as he liked having down time with his new mates… he was ready to get out there and do what he loved.  He wanted to sing and preform; he wanted to meet fans, he wanted to live. 

 

And to do that… he needed to let go of his past once and for all. 

 

“Yes Li.  I am sure.  This is something that I need to do.”  Zayn could tell that Liam was nervous, his fingers were gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles were turning white. 

 

“Just remember that we will be right there with you, every step of the way,” Niall reassured the omega with a hug. 

 

Harry had nothing to add verbally but nuzzled his face into the omega’s thigh that he was currently using as a pillow in the backseat of their Range Rover. 

 

Being ever-helpful in trying to lighten the mood, Louis unfastened his seatbelt where he sat shot-gun to reach back and ruffle Zayn’s newly colored silver locks.  “Have I told you yet how much I’m digging the old man look Zaynie?”

 

Zayn pouted, pushing out his bottom lip, “It’s silver, Lou.  Not grey.  And I’m still younger than you!”

 

“LOUIS! Put your seatbelt back on right now!  So help me I will pull this car over!”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Zayn didn’t spend much time at the house.  He never really lived there after he presented.  He had bought his parents this property after X-Factor; he had never known love in this house.  To him it was just the place where his parents had died; tragic and painful yes, but manageable with only a small amount of reflection. 

 

The shed on the other hand… that was the setting of almost all of his nightmares.  The shed was the place that almost destroyed him.  Everything was almost just as he left it.  The forensics team had gone through it and taken all the evidence that they would need for trials and court proceedings, and everything left was covered in a thick layer of dust, but it was still the same.  Zayn swore that he could almost still smell the scent of sex in the air like it had penetrated the walls themselves, never being able to be fully purged from the place.  

 

Zayn had been subjected to unimaginable horrors in this building.  He could remember almost all of it, and he was reminded of it during his unconscious moments even to this day; Zayn didn’t think that the nightmares would ever stop for good. 

 

But, Zayn found that he wasn’t crippled by those memories now, standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by his alphas.  The memories of past tragedies would always be with him, but they were shadows now instead of a physical force trying to smother him. 

 

The alphas remained a silent but steady presence at Zayn’s side.  They didn’t think that it would be possible to hate this place more than what Zayn did, but their animosity was a close second.  They also knew that this was something that the omega had to face whether they liked it or not. 

 

After an undeterminable amount of time Zayn finally spoke, “Okay, I’m ready now.”

 

The boys worked together, pouring the lighter fluid over every surface of the shed.  When everything was saturated, the five boys made their way outside again.  Louis handed over a small pack of matches to the omega before moving his hand to lay supportively across his back and rest on his hip.  Niall did the same on the other side, crossing his arm over Louis’.  Harry and Liam stood behind the trio with their hands on Zayn’s shoulders.  They wanted him to know that they were there for him, supporting him. 

 

Without another thought Zayn lit the match and dropped it.  They watched together as the flames rushed across the ground to the shed.  Within seconds the building was an inferno, flames destroying everything inside. 

 

Zayn didn’t want to stay to watch it burn to the ground.  He didn’t want to spend another moment of his life stuck on the last page of his life.  It was time to turn the page.  He smiled at his alphas in turn and led them back to their vehicle, nodding to the fire chief on his way by. 

 

The fire department would monitor the burn on the shed and then do a control burn on the house as well for training purposes.  When all of the rubble was cleared out, a local landscaping company was scheduled to come in and rework the property into a park that would display sculptures of local artists.  The location would be known as Phoenix Park because for from the ashes of horrible actions at the location, something good would rise. 

 

As the boys loaded back into the vehicle, they were relieved to see Zayn smiling happily. 

 

With a cheeky grin, Zayn turned to Niall, “You know… there is a Nandos a few blocks away…”

 

Niall’s eyes lit up and he crowed, “FOOD!” hence shattering any lingering tension in the air.  The boys drove away laughing and looking forward to their impending tour with gusto and joy in their hearts. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... as some of you may remember, the last time I wrote smut I went off on a tangent about my sexuality and how I feel about sex in general. At that time I said that I identified as an asexual, even though I didn't know if I fit the definition completely. I have since come across another word that fits me better: 
> 
> Autochorissexuality which is defined as the disconnection between oneself and the target or object of arousal. May involve sexual fantasies or arousal in response to erotica or pornography but lacking any desire to be a participant in the sexual activities. 
> 
> This falls under the umbrella of asexuality, but as you can see by the definition, is different. As much as I think that labels are unimportant in general, I cannot tell you the amount of relief that I felt the first time I read that definition. It always seemed that I was on my own and different and now I found a word that defines me that proves that there are other people out there who experience the same feelings that I do. Anyway, I just wanted to share that.
> 
> Now onto my actual chapter note... for some of you this will be the last chapter of this story, so I will have to say farewell. It is not goodbye as I plan on writing more stories that I have outlines for and that have been burning themselves in my head for months and I hope to see you there. ;o)
> 
> Thank you all so much to everyone who has read this story, who left comments and kudos. I don't think that I would have been able to finish this if not for your support and encouragement. I love you all, words truly cannot express. 
> 
> For those of you who venture into the epilog... I will not be updating the tags for the story again. The warnings for that chapter will be in the chapter notes at the beginning. I am not ready to say what they are yet, though I think some of you can guess. My reasons for not updating the actual warnings or tags is that I don't want to discourage people in the future from reading this fic because of tags and warnings. This story can be read with this chapter being the ending point if you so choose, with the knowledge that the characters will live a long and happy life together. 
> 
> If you do wish to read chapter 39... please read the chapter notes first as I do not want to trigger anyone. Have no fear... as I have stated several times before... everything will work out the way it is suppose to. 
> 
> I am not sure how long it will be before I update again... hopefully not too long... I am anxious to move on to other projects. Until then, 
> 
> All the love  
> \- WrennAddysen


	39. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***WARNING***
> 
> ***MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH***
> 
> ***IF YOU FIND THIS TRIGGERING; PLEASE CONSIDER THE STORY OVER AFTER THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER***
> 
> Now that I have said that... I want to say that this ending; the major character death... it is not meant to be sad. It was not my goal for this to be a sad ending; I just wanted you to see the happy ending that they had together, and in order to see the happy ending... this had to happen. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy. I tried so hard to get this perfect. I don't know if it is... I don't know if I can do justice to how I saw this in my head... but it is what it is. I am content with this.

Zayn and Louis shut the front door after showing out their last guests, their third to youngest daughter, Wynifred and her husband along with their three children.  It had been a long but lovely day, filled with all boy’s family and friends.  It was their sixty-eighth anniversary; not a traditional milestone year, but at their age and health they took any chance they could to celebrate. 

 

Niall, in particular, had been in poor health for quite some time, it seemed like the years that he spent being able to drink them all under the table had finally caught up with him.  Liam had helped him up to bed an hour before when he get too tired to continue with the party.  The guests had made their way up to the bedroom in small groups after Niall had been put to bed to say their farewells, and the guests had then begun filtering out. 

 

Harry, Zayn and Louis made their way upstairs after everyone had gone.  There was no point in cleaning up, they had long since invested in a maid service to come in and clean up so they could spend more of their time together.  When they got to the bedroom, which took a longer than it did when they were younger and spryer, they slowly undressed and crawled into bed for a group hug, which was their nightly ritual. 

 

After the boys had mated for the second time, it didn’t take much for them all to adopt Harry’s petulance for nakedness.  Now they found that they couldn’t sleep unless they were all undressed and curled up together.  Between blankets and their shared body heat they had no issues keeping warm, even in their advanced years, and it made it easier to ease into sexy times before falling asleep or to rouse each other in the morning. 

 

They shared goodnight kisses and settled down in their large California King size bed.  They all wanted to be touching through the night, so they developed system over the years to do just that.  Liam laid in the middle on his back with Harry on one side and Zayn on the other using his chest as a pillow.  Louis was spooned behind Harry and Niall behind Zayn.  Though the bed was large they didn’t take up much room like this.  Harry and Zayn were able to hold hands over Liam’s belly and Louis and Niall held hands over them.  They were mushed together in the best of ways and none of them could ever imagine sleeping without all the others. 

 

One by one, Zayn felt his mates drift off to sleep.  As much as Zayn loved his sleep when he was younger, now he enjoyed staying up to make sure that his mates got to sleep okay and to reflect on their lives together.  It was peaceful and calming listening to the soft snores of his alphas surrounding him. 

 

This was why Zayn was awake and listening when he heard Niall’s breathing steadily slow down.  Zayn carefully tangled his legs with Niall’s and brushed his thumb along the blonde’s wrist as he heard his still blonde alpha (because even after all these years, Niall had still insisted on dyeing it) take his last breath and felt his heart stutter to a halt. 

 

The gentle shock that went through the pack’s bond was enough to wake Harry who blinked his eyes open to look at Zayn.  The omega could feel Harry searching their bond to figure out what was different and Zayn was prepared when he saw Harry’s eyes widen and glisten with tears. 

 

Zayn squeezed his youngest alpha’s hand and whispered quietly, “It’s okay Hazza.”

 

“But…Nialler…”

 

“I know, love.  I know.  Everything will be okay.  We lived a full life with him, this is not something to be sad about, and we will be together again.  Nialler is with Baby Melody and Baby Rishaan now.”

 

“I miss him already.”

 

“I know Haz, but you know that he had been hurting for a long time now.  Ni isn’t hurting any more.  That is what is important, he went peacefully with us just like we knew that he had wanted,” Zayn whispered with a sad smile. 

 

The omega knew that his words of comfort to his youngest alpha would do little to ease the pain in his heart because it was doing even less for his own.  It was his turn to take care of his alphas now; he had to be strong for them.  Niall was gone now and he didn’t want Louis or Liam to wake up and feel that pain he and Harry are experiencing.  Reminiscing the past would be a good distraction to both he and Harry. 

 

“Remember our lad’s holiday?”

 

_One Direction, the band, had gone on an extended hiatus two years after the pack had bonded.  Of course it wasn’t because of any rift in the band or any such nonsense.  Each of them just felt like the band had run its current course.  As much as they all loved to work and preform together they all wanted a chance to do their own thing._

_The pack took a yearlong holiday to travel the world.  They had spent the past several years traveling the world, but they didn’t have much of a chance to actually explore and sight see._

_They backpacked through Europe first; rode the gondolas in Venice, saw the Louvre, went skiing in the Swiss Alps.  From there they went to Australia and went scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef.  The alphas were so proud of their omega that swam like a champ even if he was terrified; he faced his fears.  The pack traveled throughout Asia, walked part of the Great Wall of China and visited the beautiful country of Bali, and lay on the white sand beaches of Fiji.  They traveled to South America and toured Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands.  They ended their transcontinental trek driving cross-country across America and ended their holiday on the black lava sand beaches of Hawaii._

 “That was the best trip that we have ever had.  It was so relaxing; just a time for us to focus on us and our bonds,” Harry sighed.  The conversation had Zayn’s desired effect, and Harry gave a teary smile. 

 

“It was so great.  I will never forget the colors of the fish on the reef.  They were so bright and vibrant.  I am so glad that I was able to swim with you all,” Zayn said.

 

“We never would have gone without you,” Harry reassured seriously.  Zayn knew that his words were true; his alphas spent their lives making sure that he was happy and healthy and would never do anything that would upset him. 

“Remember the Act My Age Reunion tour?  You had just turned 40?” Zayn prompted.

_It was Zayn who broke out first after the band dissolved.  It didn’t take him very long to put out his own solo album as he had been writing material for years.  Zayn was a major success, and when he toured his alphas went with him everywhere._

_Liam followed soon after by featuring on albums for several different artists.  Liam, Louis and Harry used the time traveling with Zayn’s tour to expand their writing to multiple genera’s other than just pop.  During this time Niall spent his days in the athletic world.  Every chance he got he was out playing footie or golf; he even took a shot at American baseball (he was rubbish at it, but he tried so hard and his pack was so proud of him, even if the fans made memes of him hitting himself in the head with the bat when he was trying to hit the ball.)_

_Harry, Louis and Zayn all did some acting gigs.  Louis and Zayn had acted in school and had really enjoyed it and were eager to get back in front of an audience.  Harry just wanted to try something different.  They were careful to schedule all their filming obligations so that they could all stay together._

_After movies, solo projects, writing, and sporting events each of the lads took turns on different talent shows as judges and mentors.  They got their start in a competition show and wanted a chance to give back to budding talent like they were when they were teenagers._

_By the time that all these activities were done, the boys were reaching middle age.  They had done what they wanted to do on their own and announced a reunion tour and album.  Niall had thought that it would be great criac to bring back Act My Age since they were all middle aged but still acted like children most of the time._

 

Harry gave a watery laugh, “Of course.  It was so dumb.  We recorded that song like three albums before that tour, but Niall insisted that we name the tour that.  Thought it would be a right laugh.”

 

“He was right though, that was a good time.  Niall had so much fun closing the show with that song.  His Irish dancing was so fun.”

 

“He tried so hard to teach me a few dances, but I swear; I have two left feet that I never grew out of.”

 

“Yeah, but it was hilarious when we did the traditional Irish wedding dance when we married.  Your baby deer legs took us all down!”

 

“I know that we put me in the middle for the dance so that you all could keep me on my feet, but looking back at it I probably should have been at the end so that at least a couple of you could have stayed on your feet when I eventually fell.”

 

“Nonsense,” Zayn said squeezing Harry’s hand again.  “I wouldn’t change anything in our past.  Our past brought us to right now.  In the end it was all worth it.”

 

“You really wouldn’t change anything?”

 

“Not a single thing.  It was not always easy, and some things were really bad, you know that.  But it lead me to you lads.  You all gave me eight beautiful children to raise.  The last sixty-eight years have been wonderful.”

 

Silence fell in the lull of the conversation.  Both alpha and omega felt it when Louis’ breathing became more shallow and quiet.  Harry’s eyes widened as he realized what was happening. 

 

“Stay calm Haz, we don’t want to wake up Liam.”

 

Harry took a deep breath and pulled Louis closer behind him while squeezing the omega’s hand.  Zayn reached over his youngest alpha to brush back his eldest alpha’s fringe; caressing his cheek as he peacefully passed from this life. 

 

Neither could hold back their tears as a few slipped from their eyes. 

 

Harry sighs, “I just wish that we could have had all of the children naturally.  I know that it hurt you, that you had so much trouble getting pregnant.”  Zayn knew that Harry was trying to distract himself so that he didn’t lose it; and Zayn could play along with that. 

 

_The pack had wanted to start their family before they did.  They began trying to get Zayn pregnant naturally near the end of the lad’s holiday and they tried for 13 months before they admitted defeat and had to resort to artificial insemination.  Zayn in particular didn’t want to move on to that step because artificial insemination took semen from only one alpha at a time to impregnate an omega.  Naturally, they would never know unless they did a paternity test which alpha was the natural father.  This way they would all know from the very beginning.  Zayn knew that he would carry babies from all of his alphas but he didn’t want any of them to feel slighted or left out because they were last._

_Once they figured out why Zayn was so reluctant the alphas took it upon themselves to decide who determine the order of fatherhood.  They then presented their decision to Zayn over a homemade romantic dinner and took great care to show that they were all content with their decision._

_That lead to their first pregnancy, identical twin boys from Louis they named Wyatt and Skye.  The pregnancy was hard on Zayn; he suffered from horrible morning sickness throughout almost all of the pregnancy.  But it was all worth it when their sons were born and Zayn was excited to become pregnant again when the twins were 11 months old.  Liam was the father of the second set of twins that the omega became pregnant with.  This pregnancy was even harder than the first and heartbreak struck in the delivery room._

_Melody and Zavier were born only a few moments apart but Melody had a heart defect.  She only lived a few hours and passed from this world being held by Zayn and surrounded by her fathers and brothers._

_They were all devastated by the loss of Melody but none so much as Zayn, who blamed himself for his daughter’s birth defect.  He believed that the suppressant use had caused it and thus killed his baby.  Dr. Gray insisted that Zayn had no fault in it and that sometimes… these things just happen.  It was a year and a half before Zayn would attempt to get pregnant again._

_Niall fathered Sedrick, a beautiful baby boy.  It was Zayn’s first singleton pregnancy and this one was the easiest up to that point.  He still had morning sickness but it only lasted for about three months._

_Zayn’s fourth pregnancy was the hardest of all.  Harry was the father of fraternal twins, a boy, Rishaan and a girl Hana.  Zayn was ordered on bedrest at the end of his second trimester due to complications with the pregnancy.  Baby Rishaan was stillborn in the delivery room._

_After the loss of his second baby Zayn wasn’t sure that he wanted to have any more.  In the end he couldn’t get over the fact that Louis had two children with him and the other alphas only had one.  Harry, Liam and Niall insisted that it was okay; they loved all of the children equally.  To the alphas it didn’t matter who fathered the children, they were pack and they were all family.  The alphas relented and told Zayn that if he wanted to have more babies that was his choice and they would support him no matter what his decision was._

 

_Two years after Rishaan and Hana were born, Zayn had Wynifred with Liam, and the year after Bridget was born with Niall.  The youngest, Harry’s son Kaden was born another year later; this one was a surprise as Harry was able to impregnate Zayn naturally.  Due to the past infant fatalities, Dr. Gray kept Zayn on bedrest throughout each of the pregnancy, so as not to add any more stress to the omega._

_Those pregnancies were hard for Zayn if only because there were the older children running around the house.  The four alphas were great parents but they were outnumbered.  They took every opportunity that they could to get the grandparents involved so that they could care for their expecting omega._

 

“I had one naturally; and even if I hadn’t… how I got pregnant isn’t important in the big picture.  What is important is that we had our children,” Zayn reassured.  The omega could tell that Harry was only barley holding on.  The alpha was always so sensitive.  “Go to sleep Harry, get some rest.  Everything is going to be okay.  We will all be together again.”

 

Harry knows that it is time and he didn’t want to try and fight it.  “I love you, Zayn.”

 

“I love you too, Harry.  You were the perfect alpha.”

 

Zayn watched as Harry closed his eyes.  The omega ran his fingers through his alphas curls to help ease him to sleep.  It didn’t take too long for Harry’s heartbeat to slow and stutter to a stop.  Zayn smiled through his silent tears.  Harry was with their babies and their mates and soon he and Liam would be joining them. 

 

Zayn focused his attention on Liam’s steady heartbeat thudding under his ear; strong and steady; just like Liam has always been.  Zayn thinks that he always knew that it would be him and Liam at the very end.  Liam, because of how strong he is and how even subconsciously he was Daddy Direction taking care of all of them, and himself because he has always felt like he owed his alphas.  The alphas took care of him when he was at his most vulnerable and damaged; they always placed his wants and needs before their own.  Zayn needed hold on the longest to repay everything that they had done for him, he needed to be their rock now. 

 

Zayn had spent the time reminiscing in his own mind.  Their lives were far from easy, but they had each other throughout it all.  It was especially hard when one by one the alphas lost their parents, but they got through it together.  The holes that the losses left in their life were filled with their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  They passed on the stories and memories and traditions that had been passed on to each of them.  In doing so, the pack knew that their memories would live on after they were gone. 

 

It was almost morning when Zayn finally felt Liam easing away from him.  Just as the first rays of sun started showing through the window curtains, the omega heard the heart of his last living alpha beat for the last time. 

 

He did it. 

 

He was there for all of his alphas; he was strong for them but now they are waiting for him, along with the two babies that he still needed had waited decades to finally get to know.  Zayn was content and satisfied with the life that he had lived and it was time to join his mates again. 

 

Zayn smiled for the last time and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, the omega finally allowed himself to rest.  Zayn passes from the world surrounded by his boys, just like he spent his life. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

_Billboard.com_

_The music industry received a devastating blow earlier today.  The One Direction pack was found dead together in their home.  Sources close to the pack indicate that family and friends had been at the house yesterday to celebrate their sixty-eighth anniversary._

_All of the members appeared to have passed peacefully in their sleep.  Like most packs, when one passes, the others soon follow.  Once a pack is formed, the members often find that they are incapable of going on without their pack mates.  Anyone who is familiar with the One Direction pack knows that this would be the case for them.  Even before they were a pack they were practically inseparable, and their love for one another was undeniable._

_The music industry has lost five amazing individuals who have given so much; but what we will always have is their contributions, not only in music but also in how they lived their lives.  The One Direction pack was the epitome love and devotion.  Our only here at Billboard is that everyone can adapt even just a fraction of the love and devotion that they embodied into our lives._

_Rest in peace boys; may you find each other again._

 

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... it is over... I'm not sure how I feel about it right now. I want to move on... but this story has been a part of my life for 21 months; longer if you figure the time before I started actually writing just brainstorming. 
> 
> I hope that you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I want to take this moment to say thank you to everyone who read this... whether you started reading this at chapter one or after this was completed, or anywhere inbetween. I cannot express to you how much your support means to me. Without your continued support I don't know if this fic would have been finished. So thank you... thank you... thank you from the bottom of my heart! I love you all. There really aren't words. 
> 
> I plan to keep writing... so if you liked this, please check back or follow me to read my future works. 
> 
> For the last time (for this fic at least) 
> 
> All the love  
>  \- WrennAddysen

**Author's Note:**

> I would love to hear back from you!! Thank you for reading!!


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